Prasad Seeds Philippines Inc., a unit of Prasad Seeds of Hyderabad, India, open Wednesday a $10-million corn seed processing facility in Rosales, Pangasinan on July.
Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, lead the inauguration of a state-of-the-art corn seed processing facility to help boost the country’s corn self-sufficiency goal.
A pioneering investment of Prasad Seeds, the corn seed processing facility will help transform Pangasinan into becoming the “seed capital” of the Philippines, said former agriculture secretary William Dar.
Dar, Prasad Seeds strategic adviser for global expansion, said Prasad Seeds Philippines Inc., led by Karumanchi Prasad as Chairman, would initially provide such services as corn drying, shelling, treating, conditioning and packaging, including fumigation, warehousing and cold storage, seed production research trials and commercial seed production.
He added the company’s solid three-decade experience in India had led to making Andra Pradesh, now Telangana the seed capital of India, where most of the multinational seed companies had availed of the seed processing services of Prasad Seeds.
“Likewise, we will aspire to transform Pangasinan into becoming the seed capital of the Philippines, and eventually the country as the corn seed hub in Southeast Asia,” said Dar, adding Prasad Seeds planned to expand its operations in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Prasad Seeds Philippines initially forged a service agreement with Syngenta, a global seed company, to process its locally-produced hybrid corn seeds. Syngenta also served as a staunch partner of Prasad Seeds in India.
Convinced that its investment augurs well for the country’s corn industry, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala recently endorsed Prasad Seeds Philippines to the Board of Investments a ‘pioneering status.’
In an endorsement letter to Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Alcala said the investment of Prasad Seeds Philippines in corn seed processing facility featured improved fuel efficiency, power savings and improved corn seed quality and recovery.
Prasad Seeds employs a drying technology that uses fuel efficiently and consumes 20 percent lesser LPG compared with existing dyers. It also uses US-designed blower and burner systems that result in shorter drying time and reduced power consumption by 20 percent.
Prasad Seeds dryers, thus, achieve 52 percent to 54 percent recovery, six percentage points higher than similar facilities in Pangasinan, producing much cleaner seeds, with better vigor and germination, and therefore higher yields.
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