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We’ve come a long way
baby! Ok, so it was 1968
when this particular marketing
phrase was coined,
targeting young professional women. But
it’s true for the rice industry in the
Americas, too. We have come a long way,
and we are now going to Miami, Fla., on
June 5-7, 2012, for a historical event – the
first Americas Rice Convention.
Also for the first time, an informal advisory
committee consisting of participation
from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
United States, Uruguay and Venezuela
have joined together to develop the format
for a rice convention structure that is
expected to serve the Western Hemisphere
in the years ahead.
This list does not leave out the countries
of Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Cuba, French
Guiana, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname
and Trinidad who are contributing input
and have plans to participate.
Addressing Common Goals
Phytosanitary, consumer demands and
concerns, free trade agreements today and
tomorrow, commerce, market access obstacles,
WTO obligations, genetically engineered seed, environmental pressures, new
hybrid programs and joint research initiatives
are just a few of the issues common
throughout the Hemisphere.
Will this convention lead to the establishment
of committees who can report initiatives
to a general assembly the following
year? Only time will tell, but from the
tremendous show of interest already generated
from all corners of the Americas, there
is a strong need for the region to unite and
confront common goals.
World Rice Expert Slated To Speak
For this first Americas Rice Convention,
there is no one better to kick off this
historical event and set the tone than Dr.
Charles Peter Timmer, an emeritus professor
of economics at Harvard, who is one of
the world’s leading experts on the rice
trade. Most recently, Tufts University’s
Global Development and Environmental
Institute recently announced it will award
its 2012 Leontief Prize for Advancing the
Frontiers of Economic Thought to Dr.
Timmer. The award recognizes the critical
work his research contributes to the economics
of food and agriculture, and the
ceremony will take place on April 3, 2012,
at Tufts University’s Medford campus.
As stated by the director of the awarding
institute, Neva Goodwin, “Charles Peter
Timmer has been a giant in the field of
food and agricultural policy. His research
and writings have provided critical leadership
as well as empirical foundations necessary
to address the challenges we face.”
Miami, Fla., is the gateway coming and
going for the Americas and is the appropriate
site to unite the rice industries of the
Western Hemisphere. As Bachman Turner
Overdrive says, “You Aint Seen Nothing
Yet!” Come to Miami and make history
with us June 5-7, 2012! Visit www.americasriceconvention.com.
For more, visit www.usriceproducers.com. |
