SL Agritech gets BOI perks

MANILA, Philippines - The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the grant of incentives to SL Agritech Corp. for its P450-million hybrid rice seed project in Davao del Sur.

BOI said yesterday it cleared the application of SL Agritech for its new facility capable of producing nine kilos of hybrid rice seeds and 1.6 million kilos of palay annually.

BOI said commercial operations of the project begins this month, employing some 7,000 people which include farm workers.

BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said the project would create more jobs and income opportunities for farmers in Mindanao, specifically those in the Davao region.

He said given the country’s limited land to expand the hectarage of rice production, using hybrid seeds which increase farmers’ yield, rather than the conventional or regular seeds, is an excellent approach to further increase rice production.

SL Agritech intends to use its own parental seeds in its production of SL-8H hybrid rice seed.

The company said SL-8H has proven to be productive in terms of yield versus other hybrid rice seeds in the market.

To date, SL Agritech has three hybrid rice and hybrid seed production sites registered with the BOI. These processing facilities are in Laguna, Davao Oriental and Nueva Ecija. 

The company is considered the biggest domestic hybrid rice seed company and one of the largest in Asia.