Syngenta Vegetable Seeds Opens New State-of-the-Art Seed Health Lab in India

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds inaugurated on March 21, 2024 a new Seed Health Lab in Hyderabad, India, further strengthening the company’s continued investment in quality control capabilities. The state-of-the-art lab is one of the most advanced seed testing facilities in the world and delivers India’s first dedicated seed health lab, which will serve growers in India, across the 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 vthe ision 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 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 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.”

Syngenta’s Hyderabad site was first established in 2009 and is home to more than 250 full-time and seasonal employees and workers supporting seed processing, quality control and supply operations.

Syngenta was one of first companies to breed vegetable varieties more than 150 years ago, and today is the most global organization in the industry with Vegetable Seeds teams operating in more than 60 countries and shipping seeds to 124 countries.

The inauguration in Nutankal was witnessed by key government officials. Shri 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.