Manila, The Philippines
May 21, 2007
By Melody M. Aguiba,
Manila Bulletin via via SEAMEO
SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center
The country’s biggest hybrid vegetable seed producer
East West Seeds Co. Inc.
(EWSC), is embarking on a P78-million research and development
(R&D) biotechnology facility so as to keep up with global R&D
trends.
A pioneer in developing hybrid vegetable seeds in the
Philippines, EWSC will begin to construct by the end of the year
the R&D facility in Lipa, Batangas. It will become operational
in one year.
"We will further improve our R&D efficiency because that’s where
our strength is. The heart and soul of our business is R&D. We
are a leader in R&D in tropical vegetables," said EWSC Founding
Partner and Director Benito M. Domingo in an interview.
The R&D facility will be supported by state-of-the-art
biotechnology equipment. It will complement existing
experimental site and limited parental seed production of EWSC
in Ildefonso, Bulacan and the Seed Production Research and
Training Center in Ilocos.
EWSC has been focusing on raising yield of lowland varieties
(like ampalaya, eggplant, squash, and tomato) which take up 90
percent of its seed products. Raising yield of these varieties
is also a major source of incremental income of farmers.
The company’s putting up a modern R&D facility will likewise
boost its export potential even as this income stream is
targeted to bring in million in earnings this year, up by an
estimated 20 percent from its 2006 export earnings. Among its
export markets are India and Thailand. A potential future market
is Africa.
Because of the promising prospects of the hybrid vegetable
industry in the Philippines, EWSC has been an interest of
acquisition by certain bigger agricultural research companies.
"Everytime, people would approach us for a buyout. But we’re not
for sale. Multinational companies want a control of the market.
But we can’t sell it even at $ 300 million," Domingo said.
EWSC had investments of at least about P1 billion in the
Philippines.
Despite a focus on hybrid tropical vegetables, EWSC has been
actively diversifying its products as it has tied up with
Cornworld Breeding Systems Corp. on producing hybrid rice seeds
which also faces an enormous growth prospect with the country’s
aim for rice self-sufficiency.
The tie-up firm HyRice Seed Technology, claiming not only high
yield but a high germination rate for hybrid rice seeds, will
produce seed for 7,000 hectares of rice land for the next season
(May to October).
Co-founded by Dutch breeder Simon Groot in the early 1980s, the
company takes up 70 to 75 percent of the local hybrid vegetable
market and 55 percent of the total vegetable market. Also a
leader in Asia, it has offices in Indonesia , Vietnam , and
Thailand.
Because of the increased economic benefit of its hybrid
vegetables to farmers, EWSC has received a $ 200,000 grant from
KFW Bank-member DEG of Germany, a one of such kind of grant
given to a private company, which trains farmers on
technologies.
The two-year project called Public Private Sector Partnership
(PPSP) is on-going in Quezon and Zambales where farmers and
agricultural technicians are being trained in growing
high-yielding hybrid vegetable varieties.
The grant of DEG, one of the largest European finance
institution for private sector promotion, has a counterpart fund
equivalent also to $ 200,000 on the part of EWSC.
Technologies being taught to farmers include mulching (moisture
retention technique in plant), drip irrigation (water-saving
technique in watering through pipes), and use hybrid seed
varieties.
EWSC has extensive germplasms or gene banks of plant with
diverse characteristics such as resistance to pests, diseases,
and environmental stress and keeps plant pathology programs for
vegetables’ disease resistance.
It has been engaged in modern techniques like tissue culture
involving reproduction of crops by culturing of seedlings from
sterile laboratory and molecular marker-assisted breeding.
EWSC believes that with the commercialization of hybrid
technology, the Philippines can even displace some of its upland
vegetable imports including cabbage, cauliflower, salad tomato,
sweet pepper, and carrots.
Hybrid vegetables, produced from cross-breeding of two varieties
with superior characteristics, have given farmers yield
advantage owing to disease resistance, big size resulting in
bigger harvest, and shorter maturity.
One tropical vegetable, hybrid patola, has a yield of up to 30
metric tons (MT) per hectare, is harvested early, and has
attractive long, straight, dark bright green color.
Other news
from East West
Seed Group |
|
