The collaboration, established in 2007, includes the following crops: corn, soy, cotton and canola. In the original collaboration, the two companies dedicated a joint budget of potentially $1.5 billion; the new agreement will result in a potential additional investment of more than $1 billion by the companies over the life of the collaboration.
“Our yield and stress collaboration with BASF already has brought forth so many promising leads, the first of which we’ll see on farm in coming years with our first-generation drought-tolerant corn,” said Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer. “When I look at the promise Monsanto’s unmatched pipeline holds, and the potential for the discovery work in progress at both our companies, today’s announcement is excellent news for farmers around the world.”
“BASF Plant Science is dedicated to discover genes for maximising yield in crops that will be brought to farmers through partnerships. The collaboration with Monsanto was not only the first agreement that we entered, it also represents our most significant partnership, covering several large row crops,” said Peter Eckes, president of BASF Plant Science. “The expansion of our partnership reflects the fit between the two companies. The yield increases that we have achieved together in the field so far give us confidence that we can do more in our collaboration crops, which now include wheat.”
Wheat is the world’s second largest commodity crop after corn and demand is expected to grow as millions of people in developing countries such as China and India become more affluent and increasingly add bread to their traditional rice-based diets.
According to some estimates, the world’s booming demand for food, feed, fibres and fuel will require a doubling of the world’s agricultural production. BASF and Monsanto are strongly committed to providing farmers with plant biotechnology solutions that allow them to increase output while remaining good stewards of their land. After three years of jointly developing products that, in field testing, have shown significant yield increases in corn, soy, cotton and canola, the companies are confident that they can also help farmers meet the growing long term demand for wheat.
Source: BASF
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