MANILA, Philippines - Myanmar (formerly Burma) has signed an agreement with SL Agritech Corp. to start early next year the production of hybrid rice seeds at its 500-acre farmland (202 hectares), in East Dagon town in Yangon region.
This was learned yesterday from Henry Lim, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of SL Agritech Corp. who was in Myanmar last week to discuss with its agriculture officials its plan to utilize his firm’s hybrid seed technology to boost its food production program.
“Myanmar will later on import parental seeds from us – that will produce high-yielding F1 seeds that will be used for planting in their 50,000-acre (20,234 hectares) rice farms,” Lim said, as he lauded Myanmar’s great interest to adopt his firm’s hybrid seed technology.
Upon his arrival in the country, Lim paid a courtesy call on Union Minister U Myint Hlaing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. Also on hand to meet Lim’s party were Deputy Ministers for Agriculture and Irrigation U Ohn Than and U Khin Zaw.
The day’s event was highlighted by the signing of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement between the International Sun Moon Star Agriculture Co., Ltd. of Myanmar and SL Agritech Corp., the country’s top producer of the SL-8H hybrid rice seeds.
Lim was accompanied in his week-long visit to Myanmar by Prof. Zhang Zhaodong and Dr. Weijun Xu, SL Agritech vice president for research and development and vice president for international operation, respectively, who also briefed Myanmar agriculture officials on hybrid seeds technology.
Minister U Myint Hlaing’s was in the Philippines last November with four of his Ministry’s officials where he discussed with Lim his plan to import SL Agritech’s high-yielding hybrid seeds variety.
Lim’s meeting with Minister U Myint Hlaing was held at the SL Agritech’s research and demo (R&D) farm in Barangay Oogong in Sta.Cruz, Laguna, where the Myanmar agriculture official was briefed on the firm’s nationwide operation.
Six other Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, where the Philippines has been importing billions of pesos worth of rice every year since 1987, have been adopting SL Agritech’s hybrid rice technology to boost their food sufficiency programs. Nigeria likewise, which is considered the most populated country in Africa with over 150 million people, is also using SL Agritech’s rice technology.