Bayer Corp. sees 100 K farmers using hybrid seeds by 2021

Bayer Crop Science (BSC), a company of German multinational pharmaceutical firm Bayer AG, is targeting to cater to as much as 100,000 Filipino farmers by 2021 with its high-yielding hybrid seeds. In a statement, rice and corn seed producer BSC said it wants to convince more farmers in the Philippines to migrate to its highly profitable hybrid seeds, which are resistant to diseases and could bring yield gain of 50 to 130 percent and profit of as much as ₱200,000 per hectare for rice. Its target number of farmers, according to the company, is "reasonable" in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA). If ever, the number is an increase from the 60,000 farmers in the country so far using the company's hybrid seeds. The hybrid business is part of BSC's aim to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. “In the Philippines, the average landholdings for farming is less than 2 hectares and it could barely support the needs of a family of five, which is also the national average,” BCS said. "Given the technology and financial aid they need to succeed in rice and corn farming, it is foreseen that mostly family-run farming businesses will contribute significantly to economic growth from the grassroots, from the countryside," it added. Of the 550 million smallholder farmers worldwide, it’s estimated that 97 percent work on farms that are smaller than 10 hectares and produce more than 80 percent of the food in developing countries. It has been established that hybrid seeds can substantially raise yield and income of farmers since they are disease-resistant. For instance, from the usual three to five metric tons (MT) per hectare, BCS’s FAW resistant corn variety Dekalb 8919S has posted an all-time record high harvest of 14.85 MT in a hectare. Another Bayer superior corn variety, the Dekalb 8899S, recorded 13.38 MT per hectare in the same competition in Davao City. For the Arize Bigante hybrid rice, farmers have been experiencing up to two times increase in yield from the average four MT per hectare from inbreds to at least seven to eight MT per hectare from hybrids. It enables farmers to double gross earnings from ₱100,000 to ₱200,000. While encouraging many farmers to step up to learning hybrid seed farming, BCS parent firm Bayer Philippines, Inc. also has a crop relief programs to famers all over the world.