SL Agritech, Brunei firm forge farming deal

SL AGRITECH Corp. and a Brunei firm have signed an agreement to jointly develop 2,000 hectares of rice plantations, in a bid to help uplift the lives of more Filipinos.

The proposed plantation program of SL Agritech and Four Bays Iman Sdn Bhd (FBIS), which are now preparing to jointly farm in Palawan and Nueva Ecija, falls under the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) development program, according to SL Agritech.

Under the joint venture, SL Agritech will provide the hybrid rice technology, seeds, agricultural chemicals, and marketing work.

FBIS, meanwhile, will invest in irrigation, farm to market roads, land to be subjected for contract farming or lease, drying equipment, transport, post harvest and other processing facilities.

The proposed five-year plantation program will require an investment of P1.3 billion on the first year.

The joint venture was an offshoot of the BIMP-EAGA agribusiness cluster meeting in Palawan last June 2013.

It has been part of an initial discussion between private sector representatives and BIMP-EAGA Business Council Chairman Pg Yura Kesteria PSN Yusuf.