El Salvador Market Expansion Strategies

USRPA continues the success of its partnership with the Salvadorian Rice Association (ASALBAR), the local rice millers group, to conduct a promotional campaign to address the constraint of a lack of consumer awareness of rice. Campaign messages will point out to consumers that rice is an economical source of good nutrition it is abundant and appetizing, so the Salvadorian consumer would be persuaded to eat rice every day at more than one meal. USRPA will also emphasize that most Salvadorian brands use U.S. rice.

USRPA’s Market Expansion Strategies are conducting in supermarkets, and also includes radio spots on national coverage, radio interviews and a page layout in a culinary magazine to expand our message that rice is a nutritious and economical addition to their daily diet for Salvadorians. Promotional activities are conducted by a well-known chef “La Chilena” across El Salvador but mainly in San Salvador. The campaign slogan is “Todo es mas nutritivo con Arroz” (Everything is more Nutritious with rice)  is used repeatedly through the campaign in supermarket promotions, magazine advertisements and radio spots, that way the consumers will have constant reinforcement that rice is nutritious and can be combined in many ways to provide a healthy meal.

Guatemala Social Media Campaign

Since the Guatemalan government implemented strict stay at home orders due to the development of COVID-19, the use of social media has increased significantly.  USRPA considered it very important to continue the promotional campaign presence and started a social media campaign using social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Consumers are targeted with live cooking classes, video recipes, photos, cooking tips, menu ideas, rice facts, and more. In June we launched the first live interactive virtual cooking course where attendees can follow along for free on Zoom, live cooking classes are broadcasting two days a week since June and we will continue to the rest of the year.

Thanks to the success of the social media campaign an increase of new followers, shares, and likes has been reflected in the data. Our Facebook fan page “USA ARROZ” counts with 1,552 followers and the number increasing day by day.  Page analysis reported an increase in the number of followers not only in Guatemala but also in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, USA, Argentina, and Bolivia. This campaign allows us to go beyond a single sector since social networks reach all over the world.

Guatemala Market Expansion Strategies

Under the Market Expansion Strategies promotions, USRPA continues its partnership with the Guatemalan Rice Association (ARROZGUA), the local rice producers and millers group, to conduct promotional campaign to make consumers aware of the benefits, both economical and nutritional, of adding rice in the diet of low-income Guatemalan consumers.  The targets of promotions are housewives between 16 and 45 years of age who make purchasing decisions for households in socioeconomic levels C and D.

USRPA’s Market Expansion Strategies consist of bringing rice to town plazas, markets, supermarkets, fairs, and other locations for demonstrating how to cook rice while giving away recipe/information brochures on the benefits of adding rice to the diet.  These simple promotions allow people who have never tried rice, or are unfamiliar with it, to see how easily rice is prepared and how good it tastes.  Consumers are attracted to events by radio, newspaper ads, mobile sound trucks, posters, and fliers and may request future training courses for groups or institutes. Campaign messages will point out to consumers that rice is an economical source of good nutrition and that rice tastes good and can be served more frequently in Guatemalan households.  The campaign slogan “Eat Delicious, Eat Healthy, Eat Abundant, EAT Rice” will be used repeatedly through the campaign.

 School Nutrition Program and Market Expansion Strategies Campaign will be conducted in the same area simultaneously. We believe that with this strategy the consumer will be saturated with the same message in the schools and the nearby supermarkets and markets.

Volume 17, Issue 28

July 16, 2020

In This Issue:

• Gulf Coast Rice Harvest Should be in Full Swing Next Week
• Agriculture in the Presidential Election
• Texas Rice Update
• 2020 USAEDC Goes Virtual

Texas Rice Update

By: Dr. M.O. Way, Prof. of Entomology, Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Ctr.

For this article, I want to talk about the South American rice miner, Hydrellia wirthi, which I observed last week infesting fields of Cheniere and XL753 near Nome, TX. This species is exotic and originated in its namesake. I first observed this insect feeding on rice in fields west of Houston in 2004/2005. This is a minor and miner pest (a little joke there…very little!). Around this time, it was found in Louisiana attacking a field of seedling rice. In this case, the farmer had to replant. The adult fly lays an egg on rice foliage near the junction of the leaf sheath and blade. The egg hatches and the larva bores into the leaf and begins feeding. It continues mining the leaf until it pupates and emerges as an adult fly. The signs of damage are tattered, ragged leaves. Sometimes the larva will mine the leaf when it is furled; when the leaf “unfurls”, the damage is something like when you made a snowflake as a kid. You would fold up a piece of paper, then cut random holes in the edges, then when you unfolded the paper a snowflake appeared! With this insect, when the damaged leaf unfurls, the damage runs up and down and across the leaf. Often the end of the leaf drops off leaving yellowish mines or stripes running up and down the leaf. Sometimes the end of the damaged leaf will hang onto the rest of the leaf by a small piece of leaf tissue. So, the plant takes on a ragged appearance. Damage I have observed in Texas has always been minor (there we go again!) usually after flood when rice is tillering. It takes a lot of defoliation at this time (about 20%) to affect yield. Also, I have most often observed damage where stands are low next to levees or water boxes. Go to the following LSU AgCenter link to learn more about this insect https://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/crops/rice/insects/presentations/16south-american-rice-miner.

So, if you see this type of damage, don’t be alarmed unless the damage is really bad throughout the field. You can always contact me at 409-239-4265 or moway@aesrg.tam.edu.

I also want to make you aware of the Beaumont Center Virtual Field Day. You can access the videos of our scientists giving talks on their 2020 research by clicking on this link https://beaumont.tamu.edu/RiceFieldDay/?fbclid=IwAR04VrNpcECHPv1bp6Gl3hzN_i97E1TMOYt4ydfMYBVEVE51_I3_mNgV5yU.

Ok…all for now! Stay safe and healthy!

Agriculture in The Presidential Election

This week Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden released a document entitled THE BIDEN PLAN TO BUILD A MODERN, SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE which includes many of his various agriculture and rural development-related policies.  The document, which may be accessed here, is based on policies developed by the Biden-Saunders Unity task force which include the following:    

Chiraag Bains, director of legal strategies for the think tank Demos; Reps. Karen Bass and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, Bobby Scott of Virginia, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Marcia Fudge of Ohio; Dr. Heather Gautney, a sociology professor and former Senate staffer; Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center; former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; former Secretary of State and Senator John Kerry;  and union activist Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

An examination of these policies will inform producers regarding Biden’s agriculture and rural development priorities which he will pursue if elected President.  An excerpt of a portion pertaining to sustainable agriculture and conservation follows, however, the plan includes many other related policies such as agriculture labor:

 6.  INVEST IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVATION 

The US Rice Producers Association does not endorse any one party or candidate.

Guatemala School Nutrition Program

USRPA continues with the School Nutrition Program (SNP) in Guatemala as part of the Market Expansion Strategies Campaign.

The USRPA promotional teams will obtain from the appropriate agency permission to conduct training in schools, along with all information on schools necessary for program planning, including the student population of each school.  A yearly schedule will be made and enough product obtained as needed to provide a school meal for each child at the schools and participating mothers.

USRPA School Nutrition Program teams composed of one coordinator and four trainers will visit up to four schools per day to influence and train school cooks/mothers and teachers.  The two-hour cooking demonstration is conducted at the school kitchen or designated cooking space, this program is focused on teaching mothers the importance of including rice in their families diet as well as giving them different recipes to use rice at every meal. We must emphasize that due to the results of USRPA and Arrozgua campaigns during the past years, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education added rice to 8 of the 20 recipes included in the official recipe book given to the 25,000 schools across the country, 1/3 of the recipes are based on rice. These changes were previously discussed in meetings with technical committees and institutions related to health and nutrition in Guatemala where representatives of ARROZGUA and USRPA participated.

USRPA Participates in SABOR USA in Guatemala

USRPA staff, Texas rice producers, and USA Rice representatives participated in Sabor USA in Ciudad Cayala, Guatemala City, an activity organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote American products locally. Sabor USA was highlighted by the participation of Ambassador Luis E. Arreaga, Agricultural Counselor Todd Drennan, and Sean Cox Agricultural Attaché. This year was the first year that USRPA and USARF joined to create promotional items together and work together jointly in a booth. In the past, both organizations had attended separately.

Sabor USA’s rice booth in Ciudad Cayala (left to right) Chef Javier (USA Rice), Ani Vettorazzi (USA Rice), Trey Barker (Texas farmer & USRPA Member Services), Bianka Rodriguez (USRPA Marketing Director), Roberto Wong (ARROZGUA General Director), Galen Franz (Texas farmer), Casey Smith (Texas farmer), Rosy Vettorazzi (USA Rice).

To prepare the paella, a team of 12 chefs used 150 pounds of rice, 50 pounds of shrimp, 50 pounds of chicken, 37 pounds of sausage and condiments. During the activity, 1547 rice samples (paella dish) were served. 

Ambassador Luis E. Arreaga (4th from right) and Agricultural Counselor Todd Drennan (5th from right) stopped by the rice stand.

Volume 17, Issue 27

July 9, 2020

In This Issue:

Volume 17, Issue 26

July 2, 2020

In This Issue: