Seed Project and Incubator Program

The IPNI Southeast Asia Program seed fund is used to support promising market development and research ideas that have a high likelihood of leading to a larger project engagement. Such innovative ideas may include review of publications, preparing the ground for later projects, proof of concept trials in the field, market assessment studies, or amongst others, the generation of land use, crop production, and fertilizer use statistics based on public and other information sources. The implementation of this project is permanently ongoing depending on resources. In 2017, the Seed Fund was used to:

1. Develop a database of land use and crop productivity statistics for major crops in Southeast Asia, which was then used to calculate nutrient uptake and removals, and fertilizer forecasts. The database has been shared with interested member companies, and components have been presented in webinars, publications, and at conferences.
2. Produce a review of fertilizer use trends in Southeast Asian countries.
3. And finally, initiate a literature review on plant nutrition in Black Pepper. This literature review is the starting point for the development of a field trial and supply chain project on improved pepper crop nutrition with Olam International and Yara International.

This program will generate significant return to IPNI and its member companies through systematic identification and conceptualization of targeted and specific market development and research opportunities.