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The vegetable seed market is thriving
and amounts to about R$ 800 million in Bra-
zil. Within this segment, tomatoes play a rel-
evant role, representing 25% of the market,
or R$ 200 million raked in by the companies
of the sector. Currently, there are about 30
seed companies that deal with this vegeta-
ble, either domestic or international, and
they are totally involved with the search for
good materials, with resistance to diseases,
appreciated at the kitchen table, with excel-
lent post-harvest flavor and freshness.
Agronomist Warley Nascimento, re-
searcher at Embrapa Vegetables seed de-
partment, says that almost 100% of the seed
used in the Country is hybrid, contrary to
other vegetables, where open pollination
varieties still exist. In tomato farming, only
some fields in the Northeast receive materi-
al from the Agronomic Institute of Pernam-
buco (AIP), and these varieties still preserve
their traditional methods. The Technology
that involves this niche of the supply chain
results into tomato seed that represents 5%
to 6% of the production cost.
“If compared to the total costs, it is not a
very big investment, as the seed encompass-
es a vast technological package. The compa-
nies have launched into the market hybrid
cultivars with up to 15 resistance events that
keep all major diseases at bay, with genes
for nematodes and diseases caused by virus,
bacterium or fungus”, he explains. Good
seed could produce from 10 to 12 thou-
sand kilograms of tomatoes per hectare; that
is why technically equipped farmers usually
do not bother to save money on seed, even
if it is rather expensive. Now, a single seed
could cost a dollar or a euro.
For its substantial value, Nascimen-
to articulates that, when it comes to buy-
ing tomato seed, the farmers need to take
into consideration some attributes on be-
half of quality: physiology, an assurance of
germination and vigor; physical aspect, re-
lated to the physical side of the plant; and
sanitary concerns, since an array of diseases
could be transmitted through this channel.
“Much caution is needed during the pro-
duction of the seeds, not only with regard
to the genetic factor, because the future
buyers of the seed do not want any con-
taminated product, or seeds that do not
germinate properly or lack vigor”, he says.
According to the researcher, seed pro-
duction requires a professional spirit, from
cultivar research to the fully grown plant.
However, he points out that nowadays,
one of the problems faced by the Coun-
try has to do with outsourced works. “In
the specific case of tomatoes, unfortunate-
ly the production of seeds has been del-
egated to other countries like Peru, India
and Thailand, where production costs are
cheaper, especially labor related costs”, he
clarifies. In these cases, normally the com-
panies send the parent seed and receive
the seed from it, a fact that leaves room for
harmful outcomes.
“We have neglected to develop the nec-
essary technology and are running the
risk of importing new pests and diseas-
es, not to mention the financial burden”,
he notes. Á suggestion by Embrapa, jointly
with the Brazilian Association of Seeds and
Seedlings (Abrasem), which has already
been forwarded to the Ministry of Agricul-
ture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa),
consists in creating a seed production hub
in Brazil. “Research works are focused on
the development of technologies for the
production of tomato seeds. It means that
we have capacity and technology for this
purpose”, he concludes.
