New Energy Farms (NEF) is now providing on-mill production of synthetic seeds via licensing of its CEEDS™ technology in Brazil. CEEDS™ solves multiple problems, including reducing the high cost of field sugarcane seed production. Profit is being lost due to using cane as the planting material; disease in this cane also reduces yield; and planting systems are slow, requiring capital-intensive equipment or high levels of labour, according to the press release.
CEEDS™ technology produces synthetic sugarcane seeds, small, uniform propagules that are directly drilled into the ground. They solve these issues in sugarcane planting. Firstly, synthetic seed production is in small CEEDS™ nurseries (at mill sites), eliminating the need for sugarcane seed fields and increasing profit, as the seed cane area can be milled rather than planted. Less than 5 hectares (of non-agricultural land) is required to produce CEEDS™ for 1,000 ha of planting, compared to over 175 hectares with field seed-cane.
CEEDS™ are also clean and disease-free, as they amplify meristem (tissue culture) material at low cost. Planting is fully automated, faster, and safer, using lightweight planters at over 1 ha/hour, resulting in a larger area planted within the ideal window. The capital equipment cost of this CEEDS™ planting equipment is up to 65% lower, while requiring half the machinery operating staff of conventional planting. NEF offers in-house CEEDS™ production at mills via training. This provides further cost reductions through on site use of electricity, waste-water for irrigation, substrate production from waste, and staff sharing. Putting the control of seed-cane via CEEDS™ with the customer on the mill site.
CEEDS™ have been developed after 10 years of testing and development in Brazil and other regions, and a partnership in Brazil with the leading sugarcane meristem producer, Explante Biotecnologia, for the supply of high-quality material.
For anyone who would like to know how to implement CEEDS™ in a mill in Brazil, NEF provides a comprehensive training program (over 12–18 months) to transfer the technology to the team.
