21 March 2024, New Delhi: Syngenta Vegetable Seeds inaugurated a new Seed Health Lab in Hyderabad, India on Thursday, strengthening the company’s continued investment in quality control capabilities. The lab is one of the most advanced seed testing facilities in the world and is India’s first dedicated seed health lab which will serve growers in India, Asia Pacific region and beyond.
Located in Nuthankal village near Hyderabad, the lab becomes part of Syngenta’s global network of vegetable seed Quality Control labs, including centers of excellence in the United States and the Netherlands, which supports Syngenta’s mission to deliver the highest quality vegetable seed products to growers around the world.
“High-quality, healthy seed is the foundation of success in the field for our customers,” said Nishchint Bhatia, Head of Asia Pacific for Syngenta Vegetable Seeds. “This investment highlights our commitment to ensuring growers have a reliable supply of healthy, disease-free seed. This world-class facility also supports ‘Make in India’ and India’s growing leadership role in agriculture and vision to become a key global seed exporter.”
Built for $2.4 million (INR 20 Cr), the 6,500-square-foot modern facility is currently capable of processing 12,000 virus/bacterial tests per year with the capacity to expand with future growth. The facility is compliant with seed health test regulations in India and will be aligned with international accreditation programs such as the International Seed Health Initiative (ISHI) and Naktuinbouw Authorized Laboratories (NAL). The lab is also seeking export certification and local accreditation with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
“Global seed stewardship and promoting seed health in the global movement of seeds is critical to protecting the integrity of growers’ crops and safeguarding global supply chains and global food security,” said Erik Postma, Global Head of Quality Management for Syngenta Vegetable Seeds and Flowers. “Detailed care must be taken with every seed that makes it to a grower. This is a shared responsibility of the entire seed industry, which is why we’re proud to offer our seed testing services to other seed companies to support international phytosanitary standards.”
The inauguration in Nutankal was witnessed by key government officials. M Raghunandan Rao (IAS), Agriculture Production Commissioner and Secretary, Government of Telangana; Dr B Gopi (IAS), Director Agriculture, Government of Telangana; Dr D K Srivastava, Deputy Commissioner (QC), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India were present at the inauguration among others.
