Binalonan, Pangasinan, The Philippines
February 5, 2011
Source: Lyn Resurrection, Business Mirror via SEAMEO-SEARCA
Syngenta Philippines recently opened its $8-million corn-seed processing plant in Binalonan, Pangasinan—its first such plant in Asia Pacific—which was welcomed by stakeholders, saying it would bring quality planting seeds, contribute to stable supply and prices, and higher income for farmers.
The 3.4-hectare processing plant has a capacity to process 2,000 metric tons (MT) of corn seeds annually from 1,600 seed growers covering 1,700 hectares. It has world-class technology, including fully automated seed conditioning, shelling, sorting, drying and quality control.
The processing plant will produce corn seeds with 10.5 percent moisture content to “give the seed very good germination” and “allow it longer shelf life” of up to one to two years.
The processing plant’s corn seeds are used for planting, while most of the corn produced by farmers is used as commercial grains or for animal feeds.
Syngenta executives credited the Philippines’ regulatory process, the progressive agricultural policy and the farmers’ acceptance of new technology among the main reasons for building the seed-processing plant in the country.
“The reason [for putting up the Pangasinan corn processing plant in] is we have great cooperation in the Philippines with the regulatory authorities, and we believe that the Philippine agricultural policies are very progressive because it is the only country [in the Asia-Pacific region] that has deregulated genetically modified [GM] commercialized corn,” Peter Pickering, region head for seeds of Syngenta Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. told reporters in an interview at the opening of the processing plant on February 1.
“As well as we believe that the Filipino corn farmer is a progressive farmer who accept technology very readily. So it’s an area where we can expand our sales very quickly,” Pickering added.
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) approved for commercial planting in December 2002 the first GM crop in the country—the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn—which is resistant to corn borer, under the Monsanto brand, while Syngenta’s Bt 11 was approved in April 2005, Dr. Violeta Villegas, Regulatory Affairs manager for Asia Pacific of Syngenta, told the BusinessMirror.
Farmers receptive to the new corn seed technology steadily increased the hectarage planted to GM corn from 50,000 hectares in 2002 to the current 400,000 hectares, Clarito Barron, BPI director, said in an interview.
“The Philippines is the only nation in the region which approved biotech traits in corn. I’m sure this [seed processing] plant will play a key role in the future in supplying the seeds with [biotech] corn traits to countries beyond these shores,” Ed Attema, Syngenta’s Asia-Pacific supply-chain head, said in his speech.
Chris Allen, Syngenta’s Asean Business head, said the launching of the corn-processing plant “is a sign of the Philipines’ continued progress as one of the leading nations in agriculture in Asia Pacific. This certainly influenced Syngenta’s decision to build a world-class seed processing facility in Pangasinan.”
Syngenta Philippines has seven corn varieties. It has been producing and distributing corn hybrids in the country since July 2001. Corn hybrids are conventionally bred and are integrated with identified traits for enhanced yield and tolerance to pest and diseases. The two GM corn it has in the country are insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant.
Tools: Science, people and farmers
Agriculture Undersecretary Joel Rudinas, pointed out that the DA is committed to food security and self sufficiency.
“[That’s a] very, very tall order for us,” Rudinas said in his speech at the opening of the Syngenta processing plant.
He noted that with the 2008 and 2009 food crisis and the impending food crisis put to the core the Philippine situation: “[It] is an agriculture country and it should try to at least to maintain a degree of self sufficiency such that food-security commitment will never be eroded by international realities.”
The Philippines has an estimated 2 million to 2.5 million hectares of corn farms and 2 million to 2.5 million hectares of rice farms.
He also noted that the effects of climate change are adding to a “serious situation,” with farm diversification giving more pressure on the use of the lands.
Rudinas pointed out that the DA is using science, the people and the farmers among the tools in order to meet its commitment for food self sufficiency and security.
“The science community has always helped us develop not just the technology, but the genetic materials by which the technology is already imbedded. And there are a lot of exciting possibilities on this.... Now we look forward to not just attending to the demands for higher productivity, better pest resistance, but even looking at other abiotic stresses which most of our crops are being subjected to,” he said.
He quickly lauded Syngenta “for exercising leadership through its corporate responsibility in ensuring the quality and the superiority of the seeds that it is sharing with the farmers.”
“We turn to seed companies which are very, very steep in science, who have invested a lot in the development of their materials to consider these things,” he said.
He said the DA is committed to strengthening the seed system in the country, “increasing or broadening the base of areas to cover with our system, and strengthening our partnership, most especially with other sectors in our society [which are] socially involved in the agriculture sector.”
He said the DA sees in Syngenta “a very, very effective, a very, very capable partner...in ensuring prosperity and sustainability of Philippine agriculture.”
Welcome development
Corn farmers, scientists and other industry stakeholders welcomed the development.
Roger Navarro, Philippine Maize Federation president, said, “At least now we are assured that there is another seed company that is putting up a facility in our country that will supply our local corn farmers, fresh from the plant....The facility of Syngenta will augment the need of local farmers. We understand the facility is guaranteeing quality seed production. So it is really a welcome project for corn farmers.”
Dr. Saturnina Halos, a BPI consultant, said the corn-processing plant “ensures the access of Filipino farmers to the latest technology in agriculture and help in our food security.”
She said seed producers will earn more and are assured of good income from higher prices, besides the high yield of GM corn.
“Syngenta has much confidence in the Philippines. They could have gone to others countries. Why did they come here? They pointed out that our regulatory system is well in place,” Halos told the BusinessMirror.
Sim Cuyson of Croplife Philippines said the same, adding that modern technology would “mean more income, more food production” for the farmers.
Barron said besides generating employment, the processing plant would lessen seed importation.
Dalisay Moya, OIC of the provincial agricultural office, said the processing plant would boost the farmers’ source of livelihood.
Pangasinan has 40,000 hectares planted to corn, 50 percent of which is GM Bt corn. Each hectare yields an average of 5 tons. The province produces 70 percent of corn in the Ilocos region.
Higher income for farmers
Recher Ondap, Syngenta Philippines country head for seeds, pointing out the plant’s sufficient production supply of seeds, said, “That’s the very reason why we have this plant. We can now control the production of the seeds.”
He said the benefits of having the seed-processing plant in the country include, one, it could process newly harvested corn which come from farms just nearby; two, there is excellent potential germination of the quality of the seeds; three, because the seeds are produced locally, they are well adapted to the local condition compared with imported ones.
Before the Syngenta processing plant was constructed, the Swiss-owned company imports seeds from Thailand and India for distribution in the Philippines. It imported 3,000 MT in 2010.
Promising higher income to corn farmers, Ondap said Syngenta’s contract growers will have an income of about 20 percent more than commercial corn planting. He said farmers earn roughly P20,000 per hectare in commercial farming in one season of four to six months.
The plant’s 2,000 MT capacity per year is 10 percent to 15 percent of the market, Ondap said. Farms yield an estimated 3 MT to 4 MT of corn on the cob per hectare.
The other seed companies in the country are Monsanto, Pioneer and Bioseeds.
Expansion
Asked on the potential expansion of the current 2,000 MT processing plant, Ondap said it would depend on the market condition.
“If the market warrants that there will be more additional farmers, we will have to contract more farmers....But we are optimistic given the economy, given the agricultural support of the government of the Philippines. I think there will be more room for expansion.”
Pickering said the plant was “designed for expansion to at least double its capacity,” or to process at least 4,000 metric tons annually.
Ondap said the company’s “ambition” is to export to other Asean countries—such as Vietnam and Indonesia—if they open up to biotech corn.
Pickering told the BusinessMirror that Syngenta is building seed-processing plants in Indonesia and China.
Syngenta is one of the leading agricultural companies in the country and has presence in 90 countries.
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