Today's Top Rice News: Flood Relief, Fortified Rice Initiatives & Aceh’s Revised 2026 Rice Targets
By Megha Bajaj
Grain Institute and OLAM Mozambique arrange rice import procedures and boost aid to flood victims
Under the new rice and wheat import mechanism introduced by the Mozambican Government,, the Director-General of the Mozambique Grain Institute (ICM, IP), Luis Jobe Fazenda, who met on Monday, 9 February 2026, with OLAM Mozambique to coordinate operational procedures that came into effect in February. Particularly, the meeting is intended to fine-tune the strategy for supplying the national market. It ensures that the transition to the new cereals management model occurs with maximum efficiency. In response to a request from the Director-General of the MCM, OLAM Mozambique confirmed the donation of 90 tonnes of assorted products for flood victims and inundations in the south of the country. These goods will be channelled through the Office of the First Lady of Mozambique, Gueta Chapo, to eliminate the effect of recent natural disasters on vulnerable populations. Apart from humanitarian support, OLAM expressed its commitment to collaborate with the Mozambique Grain Institute in delivering technical training sessions for ICM staff, stressing the control and assurance of rice quality, ensuring that the product reaching the final consumer meets the highest standards of food safety.
Government’s Push for Fortified Rice Aims to Combat Micronutrient Deficiency
On Wednesday, February 12, the government declared in Parliament that no technical challenges had been encountered in blending Fortified Rice Kernels (FRKs) with regular rice during the milling stage. Notably, this initiative intends to combat micronutrient deficiencies like anaemia by using a 1:100 mixing ratio of FRKs to regular rice. Interestingly, the fortified rice programme is being executed nationwide in phases, supported by schemes such as the NationalFood Security Act, Integrated Child Development Services, and PM POSHAN. Apparently, Fortified Rice Kernels (FRKs) are made from rice flour enriched with iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 and are blended with conventional rice to improve nutritional value. Quality assurance measures are in place, with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India providing standards for fortified products. Evidently, Testing is carried out in FSSAI-empanelled and NABL-accredited laboratories to ensure consistency and safety nationwide. Moreover, the FSSAI has approved numerous labs for this purpose, expanding its capacity to validate nutrient content effectively.
Indonesia’s Aceh Revises 2026 Rice Target After Flood Damage
After flash flood damage of tens of thousands of hectares of rice fields across Aceh, Indonesia, the Agriculture and Plantation Office of Aceh is recalculating its 2026 rice production targets. On Wednesday, Head of Food Crops at Aceh Agriculture and Plantation Office, Safrizal, said that they are immediately evaluating the 2026 production targets, which were drafted before the floods hit in late November 2025. Furthermore, he mentioned that the 2026 targets had initially been finalised in collaboration with local district and city governments between September and October 2025. Aceh intends to produce 1.8 million tons of milled dry grain, equivalent to 1.15 million tons of rice, under the original projections. Moreover, the target was based on an expected planting area of 352,676 hectares and a total harvest area of 335,042 hectares, with a projected productivity rate of 5.5 tons per hectare. According to the provincial disaster command post, floods and landslides in Aceh caused damage ranging from minor to severe, with approximately 56,600 hectares of rice fields impacted. Nearly 27,000 hectares have been declared a total loss, meaning the fields were submerged and could not be harvested. He added that severely damaged rice fields cannot be used for production in the near future, thereby affecting the previously set targets. He also expressed hope that local governments would prevent the conversion of rice fields into residential or commercial areas