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In theory, the ideal seed is resistant to plagues and pests, resilient in the face of dry or nutrient deficient soil and able to survive inclement weather. The perfect seed hybrid, if such a thing exists, is the Holy Grail of plant geneticists, a billion dollar enterprise of multinational corporations trying to stay one step ahead of their rivals in a high stakes competition for precious market share.

With so much to be won or lost, it seems odd that the latest battlefield in this biological quest should be a narrow stretch of the Atacama Desert on some of the harshest soil the planet has to offer. 

Imagine farming on the moon. As far-fetched as it sounds, this is very nearly what Semillas Pioneer Chile, the Chilean affiliate of one of the world’s leading developers and suppliers of advanced seed genetics, does at its new research facility opened almost two years ago in the Azapa Valley near Arica.

Twenty years ago, Arica didn’t even register as a blip on the map of the world’s biggest seed producers and scouts for Pioneer must have had their doubts as they gazed upon Atacama’s moonscape. It never rains there, and the soil is a mix of sand and stone.

But despite the region’s glaring drawbacks, it also offers several advantages. More than the absence of plagues and pests or golf ball-sized hail, Arica’s greatest asset is its climate, explains Germán Alessandri, corporate affairs manager at Pioneer Chile. 
 
“In Arica we found a climate that’s not too hot or rainy,” Alessandri said. “So, you don’t have the natural plagues or pests… It’s a very good alternative to the tropics.”

Pioneer’s state-of-the-art installation in Arica is the company’s third in Chile – the others are in Viluco, near Santiago, and in Temuco, 700 kilometers south of the capital.

The Temuco site is used primarily for canola research and production, and the Viluco site, which is larger than Arica and Temuco combined, handles maize, soy and sunflower production. But Arica is dedicated solely to maize development, partly because Arica’s unique conditions are only suitable for this crop.

For decades Chile has played a key role for Northern Hemisphere off-season seed production and research programs, but the Viluco and Temuco installations are limited by their climate to a single growing cycle per year.

Arica, however, offers three growing cycles annually, vastly accelerating lines of research. More cycles per year allows researchers to shave years off a laborious and time consuming process, gaining a valuable edge over competitors.

Researchers select plants that have desirable characteristics for breeding, but finding the perfect strain can take up to 15 years in other countries versus just five years in Arica, said Alessandri.

The advantage of an extended growing season in a non-tropical location cannot be overstated, according to Mario Schindler, general manager of Chile’s seed producers’ association Anpros, which represents 95 percent of the producers in the country.

Anpros saw the industry through its lean years of the early 1980s when seed exports scarcely topped US$3 million per year, gradually inching higher through the end of the decade and into the 1990s.

Today, seed exports are booming. Exports have grown an average 19 percent annually in the past five years to around US$415 million in 2009 (see graph).

Reasons for the surge in demand for Chilean seeds include biotech events such as the outbreak of diseases in other countries, the rise of commodity prices, and the growth of ethanol demand in the United States, said Schindler.

A winter nursery

A good part of Chile’s draw as a winter nursery is its unique topography and climate. The country is a veritable ecological island, shielded on all sides by geographic barriers that make its central valley a natural greenhouse.

Standing in front of a wall length map of the world showing the locations of seed varieties, Schindler cut a line with his hand across central Chile and Argentina, indicating the 35th parallel.

“This is the optimal off-season area for seed producers,” Schindler said. “Think of it as California inversed.”

The Central Valley, nestled between the Chilean coastal mountain range and the Andes extending from Santiago south to the Bío-Bío Region, is ideal for growing, among other things, corn, soy, canola and assorted vegetables.

Corn seed accounts for around 50 percent of all seed production in the valley; 30 percent is vegetables; and 15 percent is soy and canola with the remaining five percent comprised of other assorted plants.

But as the value of off-season research has risen, Pioneer’s new facility is helping make northern Chile into a strategic location for global seed companies.
 
The center “is a great addition to biotechnology investigation in Chile,” said Francisco Gana, head of research at the National Agricultural Society (SNA in Spanish), which promotes farmers’ interests.

The multimillion dollar investment, around US$10 million for the laboratory alone, is the largest of its kind in the Arica and Parinacota region. In addition to creating 100 full-time and 500 part-time jobs, the facility promises to develop new seed varieties for export.

Eureka Arica

Pioneer’s Azapa Valley research site is still relatively small compared to the company’s overall operations in the country, but that it exists at all is its own improbable tale.

In the late 1980s, Mario Loredo, a young agronomist from Arica was looking to bring opportunities to the economically depressed area. It was a long shot, but he contacted Pioneer.

Pioneer was the first large seed company to produce in Chile when it began operations in the 1970s and was looking to increase its footprint, but its executives were largely unmoved save a devoted few who insisted on giving Loredo a chance. 

At that time the company had operations in Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Mexico, tropical regions that offered multiple growing seasons. But those places have their own unique set of complications. Each is subject to inclement weather, and pests and disease are ever present hurdles.

Pioneer wasn’t looking in northern Chile at that moment, but it was actively pursuing an alternative to the tropics and Arica presented a distinct, albeit unlikely opportunity. 

The company began sending Loredo small samples of corn seed to see if he could make them grow. Pioneer still had to establish a presence in the area, conduct field research and understand how to navigate a variety of unique challenges.

The soil is toxic and bone dry. But as inhospitable as the desert can be for plant life, an underground spring formed by run-off from the Bolivian altiplano could be treated and made suitable for irrigation. 

Drawing on local experience and agronomic technology, Loredo, who still works for Pioneer in Arica, spent years testing strategies to manage irrigation, eventually developing a Made in Chile drip irrigation system that improves the soil quality.

The technology was a breakthrough for winter nursery research.

“Arica is special,” Alessandri said. “When we launched our installation it caused quite a stir among our competitors.”

Not to be outdone, Swiss-based Syngenta inaugurated the second stage of its own Arica installation in late August while U.S. firm Monsanto is looking to establish itself in the area. Today there are no fewer than nine seed producers in the Azapa Valley.

“The truth is Arica didn’t even figure on the map two years ago,” Schindler said. “Now we’ve created an Arica committee precisely due to its growing importance.”

Offseason research

A good climate with multiple growing seasons is only one of the ingredients companies look for when choosing a location to produce seeds. Pioneer was attracted to Chile in the 1970s by the country’s favorable regulatory framework, which facilitates the movement of seeds in and out of the country.

“One of the things we look for is whether we are able to plant when we want to,” said Mike Chapman, research director in maize product development for Pioneer at the firm’s Iowa headquarters.

“Chile offers a stable planting and growing environment… it just makes good sense to be there.”

As Pioneer has invested heavily in winter nurseries and research programs over the last five-years to support breeding programs in the U.S., Europe and, to a lesser degree, South America, Chile has been among the primary beneficiaries.

The job of a seed researcher is to piece together a complex genetic puzzle, an undertaking that couldn’t be accomplished without offseason research and development.

In addition to producing millions of seeds ahead of the northern hemisphere planting season, breeders in the U.S. send hybrid seeds to their winter nurseries around the world for trial evaluations.

The results of these trials lead to the development of the next generation of product that North American and European farmers will plant in their fields. 

“It’s sort of like starting a race with a thousand people,” said Chapman. “There’s a gradual culling process where certain traits are needed for a commercial product and the other material is discarded.”

The process is exceedingly data driven and deadlines are tight. Above all, it’s about developing the next generation of product for the marketplace, said Chapman.

Breeding better crops

The average consumer doesn’t question where their food is produced or how it arrives on their plate, but often its production involves many people and countries.

Take for example the world’s ever growing population, especially in China and India where rapidly expanding economies have led to increased demand for corn.

“How do we feed them all?” asks Jean Pierre Posa, president of the Seed Association of the Americas, which represents the interests of the seed industry throughout the region.

“There isn’t any more agricultural land, so how are we going to feed billions of people? We are going to need a seed that yields more and probably uses less water.”

There are other pressures, unforeseen decades ago, that have suddenly been thrust to the fore, such as the use of corn for ethanol. Recent fuel shortages have led to a boom in corn for ethanol production, straining the supply.

Suddenly a potentially new line of research has been created to develop a seed that produces more ethanol per plant.

“This all creates a cascading demand,” said Posa. “Let’s put it this way; you buy a new car every year with new technology and sometimes the advance is small, but vehicles will eventually operate by themselves.”

The competition to stay on the cutting edge and solve problems as they arise is fierce. Projected sales are worked out years in advance as is what and how much clients will need in the future.

Perhaps there will be a drought requiring a seed variety that can survive on less water, or a sudden mutation of a disease thought to be long since eradicated. The point is the obstacles are themselves evolving and if, through research, a company can produce a seed that is resistant to a pest that is laying waste to its competitor’s, it will have the upper hand.

In the end these are strategic maneuvers to capture market share, which is why companies dedicate considerable time and money to research.

Arica’s role in this global chess match is to accelerate the process. For Pioneer, the future value of its research investment far outpaces production, Alessandri said.

“You can see why investing in Arica is very important for the future of the company worldwide.”

Aaron Nelson is a freelance journalist based in Santiago.