Bayer to expand seed production capacity

MANILA, Philippines - Bayer CropScience Inc. (Philippines) is expanding the production capacity of its seed processing facility in Calauan, Laguna in anticipation of increased demand for hybrid rice seeds.

The local unit of multinational agriculture technology firm Bayer CropScience  is investing P40 million this year to put up a larger seed processing facility.

Analen Dela Rosa, Bayer CropScience Philippines Head of Seeds said the expanded seed processing facility would be able to produce 50 metric tons per day from the current capacity of 10 metric tons.

A seed processing facility consists of lines for sorting, conditioning, treatment and packaging.

The company will also establish a new breeding station in the same site which will be used  for testing new hybrid rice varieties for the Southeast Asian market, including the Philippines.

The packaged seeds would be distributed both locally and oversea, although the company prioritizes domestic distribution.

“We will be testing a thousand varieties for the Asian markets, not just the Philippines,” said Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa said the company aims to become the market leader in hybrid rice seeds production in the Philippines by next year. Bayer’s strongest competitor in the local market is Filipino company SL Agritech Corp.

“In terms of the seed business we are growing very fast.  In the last four year, we are growing double digit,” said Dela Rosa. “We are targeting to be the market leader by next year, that’s why we’re putting all these facilities to achieve this goal.”

The government is now pushing for the use of hybrid rice varieties seeds under the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), to increase rice yield per hectare and boost farmers’ incomes.

Studies done by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) showed that use of hybrid rice seeds can increase yield by 15 percent. A yield per hectare of 12 tons per hectare is also achievable compared to only around four tons per hectare when inbred variety is used.

The country intends to surpass the 2012 rice production of 18 million MT by producing 20 million MT this year.