EcoScience's Village Farms of Presidio, Texas Greenhouse Announces First Harvest.

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1998--Initial harvesting has begun at Village Farms of Presidio, the newest greenhouse of EcoScience Corporation's (Nasdaq: ECSC) subsidiary, Agro Power Development, Inc.

Premium quality red and yellow Dutch variety bell peppers are grown at this 26 acre, state of the art, intensive agriculture facility, which is located in Presidio, Texas, adjacent to the one year old 41-acre Village Farms of Marfa facility. Located 5,000 feet above sea level, the Presidio facility was strategically placed to take advantage of the abundant light for growing during the winter period and the cooler temperatures during summer periods. The length of time for construction, from ground breaking to final completion, was a total of eight months for phase one, and marks the expansion of APD's operations into a larger and more diversified produce market globally. The Presidio greenhouse, together with Village Farms of Marfa and Village Farms of Texas, are among the largest intensive agriculture facilities in the nation.

EcoScience President and CEO Michael A. DeGiglio said of Village Farms Presidio, "We are proud to announce our first harvest of high quality greenhouse grown peppers. Through APD and its other affiliates, EcoScience is committed to being the leading domestic producer, marketer and distributor of high quality greenhouse grown fresh foods. EcoScience is dedicated to ensuring that our customers receive the safest, freshest, most nutritious, best tasting and highest-quality produce. Only the finest, highest quality, best-tasting colored bell peppers will be chosen to represent Village Farms under the Greenery and Home Choice (tm) labels."

Presidio's initial planting on 1,130,000 square feet of growing area took place on August 15, 1998. Full scale operations began in November and the first harvest occurred on December 1st, 1998. The Presidio site includes a 45,000 square foot packhouse, which houses the packing and grading facilities, boiler room, cold storage area, maintenance shop and administrative area. A service greenhouse, adjacent to the packhouse, houses the irrigation system, fertilizer system, dry storage area and water storage tanks. APD plans to complete another 15 acres of the project in 1999 bringing the total project to 41 acres. It is anticipated that approximately five million pounds of premium quality colored bell peppers will be produced at Village Farms of Presidio annually, and marketed to key wholesalers, distributors and retailers throughout the United States. APD President Albert Vanzeyst said, "This new facility is another stepping stone in our program to become the one-stop supplier of high quality greenhouse grown produce."

Through an arrangement with The Greenery International in the Netherlands, APD will have the exclusive right to market, under "The Greenery" brand name, premium quality red and yellow bell peppers produced at Village Farms of Presidio. The Greenery International is a leading marketer of high quality greenhouse produce in the Netherlands and the rest of the world. In addition, APD will also market bell peppers exported by The Greenery International from Europe to North America. Agro Power Development is working directly with Van Dijk Delft, a subsidiary of The Greenery, to import green peppers this season, and APD will have exclusive rights to sell Dutch quality peppers in North America under The Greenery brand name this winter. Greenery representative Nic Poot said, "This will extend the season for Greenery bell peppers in North America to 365 days a year." Additionally, Village Farms will market high quality peppers under its Home Choice (tm) brand label.

EcoScience Corporation is the leading domestic producer, marketer and distributor of high quality greenhouse grown fresh foods. EcoScience uses advanced and environmentally sound technology to provide customers with nutritious, safe, better tasting and more appealing fresh produce. EcoScience is also a leader in the design, marketing and distribution of intensive agricultural growing systems and products. The company has ongoing programs to develop and bring to market biological products for application in agricultural and other sensitive use environments, primarily in the United States and Japan. In October 1998, EcoScience merged with Agro Power Development, Inc. ("APD") to form the new EcoScience Corporation.

This press release contains forward looking statements, including those that relate to the combined company. Results are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made herein. These risks and uncertainties have been included in EcoScience's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are encouraged to review these filings for a more complete discussion of factors that could affect EcoScience's performance.