Several private seed companies of different crops showed interest in investing in the Philippines as part of their market diversification strategy.

At the recently concluded Asian Seed Congress 2023 held in Christchurch, New Zealand, those who indicated interest in investing in the Philippines were from Malaysia and China to share their new technologies.

The idea is to make high-quality seeds of different crops (vegetables, cut flowers, ornamentals, herbs and spices, rice and corn) in the Asia Pacific region to help solve the food security problems of the world harping on the slogan "seed is life," according to Dr. Frisco Malabanan, a member of the executive committee of the Asian Seed Congress, who is also with the National Rice Program of the Department of Agriculture.

The annual Congress gathers together members in 45 countries of the world and this year saw the attendance and participation of over 1,000 delegates coming from private and government seed companies and organizations.

The highlight of the Congress is the technical session about different seed technologies available in the Asia Pacific region from production to harvesting, processing, storage, seed treatment and packaging, and marketing across the region.

Seed companies that participated in the Congress were those from SL Agritech, East-West Seed Company, Caneco Seeds, Allied Botanical, Haverson, Ramgo Seeds, Bayer, Syngenta, Seedworks and BioSeeds.

From the Philippines, Dr. Frisco Malabanan of the National Rice Program, a member of the executive committee of the Asian Seed Congress, reported on the learnings of the study tour held in the country last September 17 to 24 in Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Laguna, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, and Davao del Norte.

In addition to the technological sessions, the Congress also had exhibits showcasing the most up-to-date technologies, products, equipment, storage, packaging, and marketing strategies to improve the quality of seeds being bought by farmers in the region.

An example of this is the seed pelleting technology wherein the fertilizer and pesticide are incorporated into the seed until its maturity.

The Congress also served as the venue for different private and government seed companies to do trading of seeds like the Philippines being able to buy directly from Asia Pacific seeds companies subtropical varieties of carrots, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower from suppliers in Thailand, Korea, Japan, China, America, New Zealand, and Holland.