AgriNurture Inc., the first pure local agriculture firm to be listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), is diversifying from fruits and vegetables to the production of rice seedlings.

In a disclosure to the PSE Thursday, ANI said it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with George Uy, Kenneth Duca, Wellington Tong and Heilongjiang Beidahuang Seed Group Co., Ltd. for a business venture involving the production and distribution of high-yielding rice seedlings in the Philippines.

“Subject to the execution of more definitive contracts, it is intended that Heilongjiang Beidahuang Seed Group Co., Ltd. will set up a prototype rice field in ANI’s demo farm in Mabalacat, Pampanga,” ANI chief information officer Kenneth Tan said.

The firm said earlier that it is looking at the debt market to help it raise funds for its P1-billion capital expenditure program if its follow-on offering (FOO) does not push through.

ANI chairman Antonio Lu said that, aside from the FOO, their options are to borrow from banks or look for new equity from investors.

If they cannot raise the needed funds, Liu said they will be spending P200 million to P300 million this year instead of P1 billion to expand their farming operations as well as cold storage and supply chain.