MANILA, Philippines -- Agricultural companies are developing new technologies aimed at producing higher crop yields in more economical and more sustainable ways.

Just like what Syngenta is currently developing for rice production in India. Syngenta is a multinational company based in Switzerland which has operations in practically all crop producing countries in the world. It is into the development of crop protection chemicals as well as varietal development in rice, corn and vegetables.

Seeing the need to produce more food, especially cereals, for the fast-increasing population (human and farm animals) in the world, it is devoting large amounts of funds for research activities in the field of agriculture.

At the recent Asia-Pacific media conference in Chennai, India, the company revealed the very encouraging results of a new rice production technology that could increase yields by about 10 percent over the current practice of most farmers. This is what they call Tegra rice technology which is considered a smarter rice farming system.

The system starts with the selection of the right variety adapted to a particular locality and which is liked by the market. The next step is to grow the seedlings in the right growing medium in plastic trays. The seeds are treated with crop protection chemicals so that the seedlings are robust and disease-free.

The seeds are germinated in plastic trays suitable for transplanting by machine at the young age of 21 days from sowing. This is much earlier than the usual practice of farmers to plant seedlings that are 30 days old or older.

Usually farmers plant 4 to 6 seedlings per hill whereas in the machine-transplanted system, only two seedlings are planted per hill. Thus, the farmer who transplants by machine saves on seeds. Another advantage is that the younger seedlings have a longer period during which to produce more tillers, hence more grain-bearing panicles per hill.

The 21-day-old seedlings can produce as many as 50 tillers per hill whereas the older seedlings planted by farmers usually produce only 30 tillers or even less.

The mechanical transplanter, although it costs some money, is very efficient in transplanting seedlings in straight rows and at equal distances. Because of this, weeding by mechanical means can be much easier. The transplanter can plant four hectares in just eight hours of operation. Only one tractor operator and a helper operate the machine.