HYBRID RICE producer SL Agritech Corp. has signed a memorandum of agreement with Bangladesh’s EnP Solutions Ltd for trial production there of one of its seed varieties.
EnP Solutions will initially import some 20 to 50 tons of SL-18 hybrid rice for a pilot test.
“We’re happy to collaborate with them. And we’re hoping to target bigger seed production in Bangladesh,” said Henry Lim Bon Liong in a briefing in Makati City on Wednesday following the signing of the deal.
In two to three years, Mr. Lim Bon Liong is hoping to expand the area of seed production to “hundreds of hectares.”
“By that time we can produce 1,600 MT of seed; two tons of seed per hectare,” he said.
“This is our first collaboration. We’re still feeling each other out. But we’re looking for a long business-relationship,” he added.
EnP Solutions mainly provides services for the oil and gas industry in Bangladesh.
This will be the first time the firm will be venturing into agriculture, according to EnP Solutions Chairman Syed Mahmudul Huq.
“We are almost self sufficient in food but Bangladesh like Philippines, is subject to natural calamities and we have drought or floods. We will lose our standing crop and look for imports,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“Nevertheless, government and the private sector in the eventual long run have to go forth for expansion in agriculture,” he added.
For his part, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Philippines Asad Alam Siam welcomed the collaboration, saying this move is seen to help Bangladesh face the challenge of feeding its rapidly expanding population.
“We are a small country with a big population. Our farmland is shrinking while our population is [increasing]… This technology, in terms of hybrid rice, that the Bangladeshi companies take to the Philippines, will increase our productivity… and will help us ensure food security,” he said.
SL Agritech currently exports rice seed to the United States and the Middle East. — Janina C. Lim
