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The Hayleys Group’s well-established role and continuing investments in ‘Helping Sri Lanka Grow’ have been emphatically recognised once again at the National Agribusiness Council’s Agri-Business Awards.

Hayleys Agro Products Ltd., (HAPL), the Group’s total solutions provider to the local agri-inputs sector was awarded three Gold awards and a Silver award at the 2007 Ag-Biz awards in the ‘Large’ category for Seeds & Planting Materials, Machinery & Agricultural Equipment, Livestock & Veterinary Supplies and Fertiliser & Agrochemicals in an impressive endorsement by peer companies and associations in the sector.
“The commitment of Hayleys to agriculture has been strengthened and a strong common platform is being set up to invest in a new generation of agriculture even as the group builds on its traditional role,” said Rizvi Zaheed, Managing Director of HAPL. “These awards are greatly encouraging in that context, as they recognise the all-encompassing nature of our involvement.”

HAPL’s products range from crop protection chemicals -- insecticides, fungicides and weedicides to vegetable seeds, seed paddy and seed potatoes, fertilizer, agri equipment including sprayers, tractors, combine harvesters and threshers; micro irrigation systems and animal health products including antibiotics, biologicals, feed additives and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Marketed under a one-stop concept, the company’s products are widely available in over 90 per cent of agricultural outlets in the country.

Even more significant, Mr. Zaheed said, is the role the company plays in providing extension services to farmers, supporting outgrower programmes, adding to the body of knowledge in agriculture through adaptative research and its new investments in plant bio technology to improve yields and productivity. This is possible because Hayleys Agro Products has the advantage of being commercially involved in virtually every stage of the life cycle of agro produce from producing seeds to the export of processed produce, giving the company a unique profile in the agriculture sector, and enabling it to add value at many points and in many aspects, he explained.

“Hayleys is bringing value to all its customers in the agriculture sector through the coming together of all the synergies at its disposal and supporting these efforts with a large core of strategies in extension services that cover soil technology, planting practices, seed materials, markets and marketing,” Mr. Zaheed added.

A major new area of involvement for Hayleys is the use of bio technology for the local production of early generation seed potato, a project which will bring significant savings in foreign exchange and improve yields and quality. “This early generation planting material is expected to provide 10 to 15 per cent higher yields than the traditional late generation seed potato imported mainly from Europe and is less susceptible to pests and diseases”, Mr. Upali Gangoda, CEO of HAPL disclosed. Besides the saving on foreign exchange and freight costs, the local production of early generation seed potato is also a potential generator of employment for field multiplication, he pointed out.

Hayleys is also using bio technology to produce high yielding other crops such as banana, pineapple, strawberries and other crops for the domestic market while developing horticultural plantlets for export.

The Hayleys Group has had a historic involvement with the agronomy of Sri Lanka from its inception as a small proprietorship in Galle 129 years ago. Today, the Group accounts for 2.7 per cent of Sri Lanka’s export income and 2.2 per cent of the country’s GDP.