China Makes a Step forward towards a RMB Currency Area

By
MURASE Tetsuji
Professor of Ryukoku University

In December 2008, the Standing Committee of the State Council of the People's Republic of China decided to allow its currency, Renminbi (RMB), to be used in international transactions with some of its trade partners; it will be allowed, as a part of a pilot project, to be used to settle trade payments between a) Hong Kong and Macao, and the Pearl and Yangtze river delta regions including Shanghai as well as Guangdong province, and b) ASEAN member countries and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region as well as Yunnan province. Actually, the RMB had already been used as settlement currency in China's authorized border trade with Mongolia, North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, etc. But with the above decision, the State Council aims for a full-fledged pilot project that involves major trading areas. Thus, this marks a first step on the road to making the RMB an international currency.

In order to settle trade payments in the RMB, foreign banks that finance exporters and importers must keep RMB accounts and be authorized to buy, sell and hold the RMB required for the settlement. Foreign (non-resident) banks should be able to open RMB accounts and to undertake spot and forward exchange dealings in the Shanghai market. To begin with, the Bank of China's Hong Kong subsidiary and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Hong Kong are reported to have been authorized to open such accounts respectively with the Bank of China and Bank of Communications in Shanghai. Hong Kong has started on the path to become the RMB offshore center. In order for the RMB to prevail in future intra-regional trade in East Asia, not only banks but also non-resident traders must be allowed to open RMB accounts (either in China or off-shore). However, as wider possession of RMB among non-residents should risk speculative selling of RMB, Chinese monetary authorities would take cautious stance on lifting the ban on the access to RMB accounts by non-residents in general. In fact, Yi Gang, Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the National People's Congress in March 2009 that there is no need to rush for the internationalization of the RMB (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, March 10, 2009).

Chinese academic circles seem to be divided into two groups over the necessity of a regional monetary regime in East Asia, namely "the cooperation school" and "the non-cooperation school." The former argues, from a standpoint of regional common interests, that the RMB should be pegged to a common currency basket and be "Asianized" by stabilizing effective exchange rate, while the latter argues that it is not important or even damaging to Chinese national interests to promote monetary cooperation in East Asia, because China is gaining a competitive edge in the region, which will lead to an "RMB currency area" eventually. Both groups agree that RMB, against the backdrop of rapid economic growth of China, will in the long run become one of the key currencies in Asia.

The year 2009 is likely to be recorded as the one in which China marked the first important step towards a "RMB currency area." It remains to be seen exactly what will become of it, but it is at least certain that RMB has now started to go international, though only to a limited extent. Japanese leaders must seriously discuss what the currency regime in the region should be and how Japanese Yen and RMB should be positioned in Asia. We have no time to lose.

Source: The Council on East Asian Community (CEAC) E-Letter (May 2009, Vol. 2, No. 4)

Pemuda Petani Indonesia Siap Belajar di Jepang

Oleh
*Muhamad Nasrul Pradana

Pada hari Kamis (4/23), bertempat di National Olympics Memorial Youth Center (NYC), Shibuya Ward, Tokyo telah diadakan upacara penerimaan trainee yang berasal dari Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia dan Filipina untuk mengikuti pelatihan kepemimpian di Jepang selama satu hingga tiga tahun ke depan. Program pelatihan ini terselenggara atas dukungan dari Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) sebagai bentuk realisasi atas bantuan dana yang diberikan Jepang untuk pembangunan sosial ekonomi di Indonesia yang berupa “Bantuan Pembangunan Pemerintah (Official Development Assistance, ODA)”. Adapun pelaksana program utama pelatihan ini adalah Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC), disamping JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) yang telah lama memberikan bantuan dalam proyek kerjasama teknik untuk pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia di berbagai negara berkembang termasuk Indonesia.

Para peserta trainee yang datang ke Jepang ini, sebelumnya telah mengikuti proses seleksi yang sangat ketat di negara mereka masing-masing selama kurang lebih satu tahun. Untuk trainee Indonesia dikoordinir oleh Badan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia, Departemen Pertanian, RI. Kemudian, mereka juga telah belajar bahasa Jepang selama kurang lebih 1 (satu) sampai 2 (dua) bulan sebelum berangkat ke Jepang agar dapat berkomunikasi dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Setelah mereka datang ke Jepang, mereka langsung diberikan pembekalan ilmu-ilmu dasar pertanian di Jepang yang sangat berguna selama kegiatan pelatihan berlangsung.

Mereka juga diikutsertakan kembali dalam pembelajaran khusus bahasa Jepang dengan para guru dan pelatih yang siap membantu mereka sebelum ditempatkan di berbagai daerah, antara lain: Prefektur Chiba, Aichi, Wakayama, Nara, Nagano, Niigata, Kumamoto, Gifu, Miyagi dan lain sebagainya . Namun karena singkatnya waktu belajar, hanya sekitar tiga minggu, mereka masih memiliki banyak kendala dalam berkomunikasi dengan orang Jepang. Disinilah, para trainee perlu berusaha keras untuk selalu belajar dan menggunakan bahasa Jepang dalam kehidupan sehari-hari sambil bekerja di lapangan nantinya, ungkap salah seorang staf JAEC, Mr. Sakamoto. Tidak ada jalan lain selain belajar keras untuk dapat menerima segala ilmu yang akan diajarkan oleh para induk semang (petani) selama di Jepang.

Peserta trainee ini sengaja dikirimkan dari Indonesia ke Jepang untuk menuntut ilmu pertanian, terutama mengenai teknik bercocok tanam, teknologi pertanian, manajemen pertanian sampai dengan pemasaran produk di sentra-sentra penjualan. Atase Pertanian, Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia (KBRI) di Tokyo – Jepang, Bapak Pudjiatmoko, PhD melalui sambutan tertulis karena berhalangan hadir pada upacara pembukaan ini, menyampaikan bahwa tidak hanya ilmu bertani saja yang akan mereka pelajari, namun budaya kerja keras, disiplin dan kerjasama yang kuat perlu juga dipelajari untuk kemudian diterapkan dalam membangun pertanian negara Indonesia. Hasil pelatihan yang didapat oleh para peserta trainee diharapkan dapat berguna dalam melakukan perubahan untuk menjadi lebih baik “change for the better (kaizen)” dan membangun pertanian di daerah masing-masing setelah kembali ke Indonesia serta menjadi bekal dimasa depan untuk menjadi petani yang tangguh dan teladan.

Diharapkan melalui program pelatihan kepemimpinan petani ini, hubungan persahabatan Indonesia – Jepang dapat semakin meningkat terutama dalam hal pengembangan sumber daya manusia serta “transfer of technology” yang dimiliki oleh petani Jepang kepada para petani Indonesia.

Ketigabelas peserta trainee dari Indonesia ini akan berusaha keras dalam mempelajari teknik pertanian Jepang yang dimulai dari proses produksi, pengolahan sampai dengan pemasaran. Beberapa trainee mengungkapkan permasalahan utama Pertanian Indonesia saat ini lebih terletak pada proses penentuan harga yang tidak seimbang (terkadang berat sebelah) antara para petani dan tengkulak. Selain itu, dari segi strategi pemasaran juga masih terdapat berbagai kendala bagi petani-petani kecil yang salah satunya disebabkan oleh daya beli masyarakat yang rendah sehingga para petani juga terpaksa menjual produknya dengan harga rendah agar masyarakat kecil dapat mengkonsumsi produk mereka.

Di sela-sela waktu diskusi, salah satu peserta trainee menceritakan pengalamannya dalam menjual produk beras. Para petani menginginkan harga beras tersebut dapat dijual cukup tinggi di pasaran. Namun, jika dijual dengan harga tinggi maka rata-rata karyawan pabrik tidak mampu untuk membeli karena upah yang terlalu minim, sehingga memungkinkan terjadinya masalah kelaparan di suatu daerah. Masalah lainnya, para petani harus siap bersaing dengan hasil produk pertanian murah yang diimpor dari negara-negara tetangga, seperti China dan Thailand. Akibat persaingan harga di pasar setempat, para petani harus menurunkan harga produknya untuk dapat bersaing dengan harga produk impor. Hal ini membuat para petani merasa dirugikan karena terkadang hasil penjualan produk pertanian mereka tidak mampu menutupi biaya produksinya. Permasalahan ini merupakan suatu dilema bagi para petani terutama dalam mencari jalan keluar yang terbaik.

Untuk memecahkan masalah-masalah pertanian Indonesia yang ada saat ini, para peserta trainee bertekad untuk berusaha menemukan jawabannya

Petani teladan selama mengikuti kegiatan program pelatihan ini yang akan memakan waktu sekitar 1 (satu) hingga 3 (tiga) tahun ke depan di Jepang ini. Para petani juga mengharapkan dukungan penuh dari pemerintah pusat dan daerah untuk dapat selalu mendukung usaha bisnis pertanian mereka sepulang dari Jepang nantinya. Tanpa dukungan dari pemerintah, para petani tidak dapat berbuat banyak karena terbentur dengan kebijakan perdagangan produk pertanian yang berbelit serta modal yang sangat terbatas. Ketigabelas petani juga mengajak seluruh penduduk Indonesia untuk dapat “mencintai produk dalam negeri” dan mereka akan selalu berusaha memproduksi produk pertanian yang berkulitas agar dapat bersaing dengan produk impor.

Mr. Sakamoto-san dari JAEC juga menambahkan, jika rekan-rekan ingin melakukan perubahan terhadap pertanian Indonesia, hal-hal yang harus dilakukan oleh para peserta trainee adalah selalu melakukan perubahan ke arah yang lebih baik dan selalu berpikir maju ke depan dibarengi dengan peningkatan sumber daya manusia. Sakamoto-san juga mengharapkan kepada para trainee agar memiliki keinginan dan keyakinan yang kuat dalam mengikuti program pelatihan ini dengan baik, sehingga para induk semang (petani Jepang) merasa sangat senang dan bangga atas jerih payah yang dilakukan oleh rekan-rekan trainee sekalian selama di lapangan nantinya. Satu hal penting yang harus ditanamkan adalah jagalah nama baik bangsa negara Indonesia selama tinggal di negeri Sakura ini. Ditambahkan pula bahwa para trainee diharapkan “banyak belajar, banyak bekerja dan banyak makan” selama program pelatihan ini berlangsung.

Akhir kata, hal sekecil apapun yang kita pelajari pasti mempunyai makna dan arti, sehingga kita tetap harus terus belajar dan berkarya secara positif untuk menjadi petani kebanggaan bangsa Indonesia.

Minasan, Ganbatte kudasai!!!

*Sekretaris Umum IASA (Indonesian Agricultural Sciences Association) /
Interpreter JAEC (Japan Agricultural Exchange Council)
Tokyo University of Agriculture, Graduate School of Agriculture, Department of International Bio-Business (MSc. Candidate)
3-9-37, Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-0054

Sumber: IASA, 26 April 2009

Key facts about swine influenza

Swine Flu

What is Swine Influenza?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.

How many swine flu viruses are there?

Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

Swine Flu in Humans

Can humans catch swine flu?

Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

How common is swine flu infection in humans?

In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?

No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread?

Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu?

In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.
In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?

To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 7 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans?

There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent H1N1 influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.

What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there?

Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).

Swine Flu in Pigs

How does swine flu spread among pigs?

Swine flu viruses are thought to be spread mostly through close contact among pigs and possibly from contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs. Herds with continuous swine flu infections and herds that are vaccinated against swine flu may have sporadic disease, or may show only mild or no symptoms of infection.

What are signs of swine flu in pigs?

Signs of swine flu in pigs can include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing (barking), discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and going off feed.

How common is swine flu among pigs?

H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses are endemic among pig populations in the United States and something that the industry deals with routinely. Outbreaks among pigs normally occur in colder weather months (late fall and winter) and sometimes with the introduction of new pigs into susceptible herds. Studies have shown that the swine flu H1N1 is common throughout pig populations worldwide, with 25 percent of animals showing antibody evidence of infection. In the U.S. studies have shown that 30 percent of the pig population has antibody evidence of having had H1N1 infection. More specifically, 51 percent of pigs in the north-central U.S. have been shown to have antibody evidence of infection with swine H1N1. Human infections with swine flu H1N1 viruses are rare. There is currently no way to differentiate antibody produced in response to flu vaccination in pigs from antibody made in response to pig infections with swine H1N1 influenza.
While H1N1 swine viruses have been known to circulate among pig populations since at least 1930, H3N2 influenza viruses did not begin circulating among US pigs until 1998. The H3N2 viruses initially were introduced into the pig population from humans. The current swine flu H3N2 viruses are closely related to human H3N2 viruses.

Is there a vaccine for swine flu?

Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA 800-CDC-INFO

Antigenic shift