Bangladesh expands hybrid rice seed production area

MANILA, Philippines - Bangladesh , one of the world’s biggest rice consuming countries, is expanding its hybrid rice seed production area from 300 hectares this year to 3,000 hectares in the coming years, “as it recognizes the contribution of the high-yielding seeds to its rice production program.”

“The Bangladesh government fully recognizes the contribution of hybrid rice to its rice production program. As a matter of fact, they want to produce the seeds in a massive quantity in the next few years and directly sell them to their farmers without any profit at all, if only to stabilize the price in the market,” said Dr. Weijun Xu, vice president for external affairs of SL Agritech Corp. who arrived last week from Bangladesh where he talked with officials of the state-owned Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corp. (BADC).

“Their seed production this year from the 300 hectares planted to SL-8 hybrid rice has tremendously increased to 750 tons or an average yield of two tons per hectare,” Weijun said.

A former rice scientist of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Weijun said of the many types of seeds used to boost their rice production, the SL-8 hybrid seeds have proved their worth.

In a partnership agreement signed sometime in 2009, SL Agritech will export an initial 500 metric tons of its parental seeds to Bangladesh which will produce the seeds initially in a 250-hectare riceland.

According to Henry Lim, chairman and chief executive officer of SL Agritech Corp., five other Asian countries – Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Burma – “have experienced very impressive results utilizing our rice technology.”

Lim said however that SL Agritech will limit its seed exportation “to ensure that we will have ready supply for our own farmers. It is indeed a pity kung uunahin pa nating makinabang ang magsasaka sa ibang bansa kesa sa ating magsasaka sa pagtatanim ng hybrid rice, kaya kami gumagawa ng ganitong hakbang.”

Indonesia , which has a population of over 230 million and also one of the world’s biggest rice consuming countries, envisions to plant up to five million hectares with hybrid rice seeds in the next five years. The country has embarked on a massive seed production allocating over 1,800-hectare rice farm, and its hectarage to be increased every planting season.

This is part, according to S. Tarigan, senior adviser for the board of directors of Indonesia ’s PT Sang Hyang Seri, “of our government’s efforts to accelerate growth in rice production.”

“Time will come when we will no longer be importing our hybrid seeds from the Philippines as we will already be producing them in big quantity. We have initially allocated over 1,600 hectares for the purpose.”