Presentacion de 11th Asian Maize Conference which took place in Beijing, China from November 7 – 11, 2011.

1. Maize seed sector in Asia and Public
Private Partnership For Maize
Research & Development
Paresh Verma , Bijendra Pal , Pawan Arora , Ye Jian and
Zhong
(BIOSEED )

2. Contents
1. Shriram Bioseed profile
2. Introduction: - Maize Scenario
3. Hybrid Maize Productivity and Gap
4. Maize Productivity limitations
5. New Tools and R&D Combination to improve the
productivity
6. Private – Public working module
7. Summary

3. Company snapshot:
Bioseed, incorporated in 1992, is
the hybrid seed company of DCM
Shriram Consolidated Ltd., a
publicly listed 120 year old
company in India
Focus on Pan Asia
Strong research program
focusing on biotic and abiotic
stresses
First seed company recognized
as technology development
company by Govt. of India
Focus crops: Corn, Cotton,
Rice, Millet, Tomato, Okra, Chilli,
Egg plant & Gourds

4. Introduction ….
Global Demand for Food Projected to Grow Dramatically
as Population/Income Continues to Rise
GROWING WORLD POPULATION (B) GLOBAL DEMAND (M MT)
9 3,000
8
2,500
7
+102%
6 +28%
2,000 Rice
5
+125%
4 Cotton
1,500
3 Soybeans
+40%
2 Wheat
1,000
1 Corn
500 +76%
1981 1999 2015 2030
TRANSITION NATIONS DEVELOPED NATIONS
DEVELOPING NATIONS
0
2000 2010 2015 2020 2030
Sources: FAO “World Agriculture: towards 2015/2030. Summary Report”; IHS Global Insights , Agriculture Division

5. Introduction
• Population in Asia:
– 4 bn in 2007 to 5.3 bn in 2050 (33% increase)
• Corn demand in Asia:
– 173 million MT in 1997 to 310 million MT 2020 (79%
increase)
– 50% of this is due to improving economies
• Corn area in Asia:
– 40 million ha in 1997 to 48 million ha in 2020 (20%
increase)

6. Introduction
• Ethanol from Corn in US
– 1.7 billion gallons in 2000,5.8 gallons in 2007 and 15
billion gallons in 2022
– 134 ethanol plants operating, 77 more under
construction or expansion
• Corn prices projected to increase in the range of
23 to 41%
Tremendous pressure on researchers
of public and private sector to find
ways to increase productivity

7. Opportunities to increase productivity
Yield (t/ha) Hybrid adoption rates
9
Country % under Yield t/ha
8
hybrids
7
6 India 40 2.7
5 Vietnam 85 3.8
4
3 Thailand 90 3.9
2 Philippines 40 2.5
1
0 Indonesia 40 3.7
USA Germany West Asia East Asia Central South Asia SE Asia
Asia

8. Technology related constraints
• Abiotic stresses
– Drought
• Low or erratic rainfall in rainfed situations
• Light soils with poor water holding capacity
• Inability to irrigate enough or on time
– Water logging
• Poor drainage
• Excessive rainfall
– Sub optimal temperatures
– Acidic or saline soils
– Nutrient deficiencies
– Vivipari

9. A biotic Stress
•Vivi Pari problems is increasing in south east Asia country .
• Vivi pari zones are increasing every year in Philippines
• Vietnam- Until 1998 there is not much reports on Vivipari now there
are area in south Vietnam where we can see vivipari very often.

10. Hilly Topography and Drought

11. Technology related constraints
• Biotic stresses
– Leaf (and sheath) blights
– Downy Mildew
– Stalk rots
– Ear rots
– Corn Borer
• Other constraints
– Sub optimal agronomy
• No or improper use of fertilizer
• Sub optimal cropping systems
• Poor weed management

12. 4 major Biotic Stress in Wet tropical
Maize Growing Area

13. BIOTIC TOLERANCE BREEDING
Gibrilla Ear Rot
North Bukidnon , Kulman and Lebak
Screening 4500 hybrid every year in Impalutao,(NB)

14. BIOTIC TOLERANCE BREEDING
Diplodia Stalk & Ear Rot
Wao, North and South Cotabato
Screening 1500 hybrid /year in Wao (SB)& Banga(SC)

15. BIOTIC TOLERANCE BREEDING
Leaf Blight
Bukidnon , Lebak and Kulaman
Screening 4500 hybrid /year in Impalutao,(NB))

16. BIOTIC TOLERANCE BREEDING
Vivi Pari
Cabanglason, Wao, Echauge , Sara (Iloilo)
Screening 1000 hybrids /year in Cabanglason& Echauge
Suceptible

17. Tolerance to Downy mildew in Bioseed hybrids
%DM damge
110.00 BIO9899
100.00 BC2630
90.00
80.00 BC41399
70.00 BC42521
60.00 BC42683
50.00 BC42882-A
40.00 BISMA- R
30.00
SUKMARAGA-R
20.00
10.00 SRIKANDI-S
0.00 AMOMAN

18. Imbalanced fertility in South Philippines
Fertilizer rate of corn farmers, Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, August, 2008 (before
soils analysis)
220
200
180
160
NPK kg/ha
140
N
120
P
100
80 K
60
40
20
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39
Farmer Number

19. Socio economic constraints
• Small marginal farmers with subsistence
farming mindset
• Poorly managed or non-functional Govt.
extension systems
• Lack of awareness about new technology
• Lack of willingness or ability to invest in
agri inputs
• Last mile gap (in remote areas) in the
delivery / distribution channels
• Restricted seed supplies due to policy
restrictions

20. Trained man power and Funding
• Agriculture Science in seen less preferred and hence is a challenge
for private and public sector to attract the best talents for
agriculture research.
• Priority has change in past few year and food production is not
getting less priority.
• Less funding affecting basic fundamental research in last few
years.
• Trust between private and pubic sector ?
• Not enough breeders to push genetic gain further.

21. In Bioseed we build strong customer interfaces to better
understand their requirements

22. Technology development
• Focus on customer requirements and not
customer profiles
• Understanding what is economic value for the
farmers
– High and Stable grain yield
– Fodder yield (if relevant)
– Low input costs (water, fertilizer, chemicals, labor,
etc.)
– Fit in the cropping system
– Post harvest storability of produce
– Differential price of produce

23. Technology development
• Developing products (not just hybrids or
varieties) which can improve farmers’ incomes
and profits
– Must have added economic value for customers
– Must be economically producible
– Must allow for recovery of the value created
• Delivering the right technology solutions to the
farmers to achieve high adoption rates

24. Non-GM applications of biotechnology
• Use of Molecular markers
– Stacking of traits
– Increasing breeding gains ( by creating
the Heterotic groups )
– Accelerating product development
cycles
– Quality assurance
– Protection of IP
• Functional genomics
• Other tools viz. Doubled haploid,
etc.

25. GM applications of biotechnology
• Success achieved
– Weed management
– Insect resistance
– Nutritional enhancement
• Nearing success Drought tolerance
– Drought tolerance
– Nutritional enhancement
• Early stage of development
– Nutrient Use Efficiency
– Disease resistance
– Yield enhancement
– Utility enhancement
N stress tolerance

26. Seeds & Technology and Agronomy will play
a significant role in enhancing yield
Breeding &
Biotechnology 250%
Agronomy
and Nutrients
Reduced
Losses 80%
Land
100% 50%
(-5%) 20%
Current Crop Future Crop
Production Production
26

27. Public Private Need Work together For……
• To make Agriculture a preferred profession.
• Review our curriculum and teaching methodology in order to meet
the requirements of private and public sector agricultural research
for future.
• Expose the students to the state of the art equipment and research
infrastructure in private sector (data acquisition and analysis, etc).
• Accumulated wisdom of the private sector provides a large
reservoir of experiential learning that could be used in teaching.
• Young professionals need to develop additional education to handle
the current challenges in those areas that are more valued in the
private sector than in the public sector.

28. Public Private partnership
• Young breeder/students need to be exposed to plant breeding and
other agricultural areas by working in breeding projects, seed
production, etc. It will help to give them favorable view of the
science.
• Private Sector need to provide scholarship programs to the
breeders/ scientists and also can have some collaboration with the
Public Sector for basic research of the interest of private sector .
• Private sector should provide enough job opportunities.
• Working to achieve a Common Goal - to improve the productivity .

29. Some challenges
• Increased investment in agricultural research
• Increase our understanding of biology
• Adequate availability of plant breeders
• Create successful public private partnerships
– Complementary in nature with no overlaps
– Clearly defined objectives and milestones
– Equitable resource and benefit sharing
– Based on mutual respect for each others’
capabilities
– Clear agreement on IP issues

30. Asian Breeding program V/s US
breeding Program
• Asian Breeders need to think …….
– To categorize the tropical corn germplasm in
different heterotic group
– Enough focus on the new emerging problem in
corn growing area.
– Develop a systematic approach to tropicalaize the
temperate material rather than using it directly
( we can learn form GEM program of USA )
Public and Private sector need work together to
improve the genetic gains

31. Breeding Strategy Module
Productivity
Topography and Market
Limitation at Farmer Cropping System
Climatic limitation requirements
Field
P
r
i
Information v
Bank a
t
P
e
u
Breeding Objective and b
Target setting l
i
c P
Breeding and
r
Germplasm Sharing
i
v
Product development , a
seed multiplication and t
distribution e

32. Public Private Partnership
• ICRISAT’s hybrid parent development consortia
(Pearl millet, Sorghum, Pigeon pea)
• IRRI’s hybrid rice development consortium
• CIMMIYT - Maize consortium ( IMIC)
Some more partnership Need to Identified and develop
between National research institute and private seed sector

33. Public Private Partnership
Biotechnology:
Transgenics
Molecular marker technologies (no bio-safety involved)
Biosafety Breeding & Seed
Discovery Technology evaluation / product production
research development deregulation development & marketing
Public sector
Private sector

34. Summary
• Tremendous pressure to increase corn productivity in Asia
in view of the projected demand and price of corn
• Tremendous opportunity to increase productivity in view of
huge gaps which exist today
• Private and public sector need to work together to
increase the genetic gain
• Economic returns to farmers and other stake holders must
be kept in mind when developing new technologies
• Use of biotechnology must be encouraged
• Increased investments in agricultural research and human
resource development
• Successful public private partnerships must be created
……. To meet the challenges that we have

35. Thank You