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On March 13th we reported on news that the SL Agritech seed company from the Philippines, which imports and produces Chinese hybrid rice varieties, signed a deal with the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) for the export of 200,000 kilos of hybrid rice seed. We speculated that SL Agritech is dumping its seeds in Bagladesh because it cannot find a market in the Philippines. That report followed news that the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) was warning farmers about the poor quality of imported hybrid rice varieties that had been brought into the country without any testing.

Now BSS news (May 13, 2006) is reporting that the BADC has completed field tests of two SL Agritech varieties, SL-7H and SL-8H. BADC claims that the hybrids yielded 10.5 tonnes per hectare and that they would provide more profits to farmers than any local variety. Interestingly, BADC brought seeds of these two varieties into the country for testing last December 2005. They then purchased the 200,000 kilos of seed for distribution in March 2006, months before the results of the field trials were completed.

Dr. M.A. Sobhan and Golam Rabbi Badala, two researchers with the Dhaka-based NGO UBINIG, recently investigated these claims. They found that the yields were lower than what was reported in the press, averaging between 8.5-10.5 tonnes/ha, depending on the location and the variety. Proponents of these "super" hybrids had initially boasted that the two varieties produced yields of 16-17 tonnes/ha in the Philippines and Indonesia.

One seed dealer in Gakulnagar, Jhenaidha told the UBINIG researchers that “the stem of SL-7H and the SL-8H is weaker and susceptible to lodging compared to the BR-29 (a popular non-hybrid variety).” The UBINIG researchers also note that there was no mention of comparisons with check varieties-- the usual practice with field trials.

And there's one other aspect of the trials that concerned the UBINIG researchers: "A lack of transparency is observed in the Government level about the super hybrid paddy. The Agriculture Extension officer mentioned that the BADC was directly controlling the introduction and follow up actions."

Bangladesh: Update on the push for super rice