R&D boost for Singapore agribusiness

Dhevarajan Devadas Straits Times 9 Oct 10;

AN AGRICULTURAL research centre that aims to improve crop yields and devise better sprays to control pests was opened at Science Park II yesterday.

The facility - set up by Syngenta, a Swiss-based agribusiness giant - consists of two key laboratories employing 22 people in total.

One lab helps breeders develop better varieties of rice, pepper and other crops in less time by identifying DNA markers associated with desirable traits.

The formulation development lab will help create products like herbicides and fungicides that can easily be applied by farmers with cheap spray equipment.

'We also create crop enhancers that increase the yield of rice, for example, by 10 per cent,' said Mr Keith Parker, Syngenta's head of formulation and packaging development in the Asia-Pacific.

Its head of the seeds business in the Asia-Pacific, Mr Peter Pickering, added: 'The region is expected to have an additional billion mouths to feed by 2030, and with limited resources, new technology in agriculture is necessary to help farmers grow more with less.'

Mr Liang Ting Wee, the Economic Development Board's director of energy and chemicals, said at the opening ceremony: 'Like Syngenta, Singapore places priority on innovation and R&D to drive Singapore's economic development.'

Mr Liang, who thanked Syngenta for its continued confidence in Singapore, added that the country aims to increase research and development expenditure to 3.5per cent of gross domestic product by 2015.

Syngenta, which also has its regional headquarters here, employs more than 25,000 people in over 90 countries.

It spent US$960 million (S$1.25billion) on R&D last year.