Smart Valleys? The Prize In The Rise Of The Price Of Rice
MANILA: Is the price of rice right? Is the value added from the farm gate to the dinner table received by the farmer right? When there is a rise in the price of rice, whose prize is it? The right answer may shock you. We'll get to that in a little while. MY sent me early this morning, Monday, 19 December 2016, an email link to "Benin Rice" (AFP, 19 December 2016, Manila Times , manilatimes.net ), and I've been reading that news. Benin is a democratic "presidential republic" in West Africa ( Wikipedia ). It was once a territory of France, long enough so that the official Benin language is French. Benin is tropical Sub-Saharan, highly dependent on subsistence agriculture. The largest religious denomination is Roman Catholic, followed by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Sounds familiar. Benin has 2 dry seasons (December to April and July to September), and 2 rainy seasons (April to July and September to November). Unique. The Africa Rice Center, or Af...