AgroPages-DuPont Opens Multi-Crop Research Centre in India-Agricultural news

DuPont has inaugurate its newest multi-crop research centre (MCRC) in Hyderabad, India. The flagship plant breeding and research facility enables the DuPont Pioneer seed business to bring innovation to multiple crops that are grown locally thereby improving the productivity of Indian farmers.

Spreading across a land area of about more than 100 acres, the construction of the MCRC began in May 2012. The new research centre will accommodate up to 120 researchers engaged in corn, rice, millet, mustard and cotton hybrid seeds development catering to the farmers in the Indian subcontinent. The facility will enable the deployment of trailblazing breeding technologies such as molecular breeding, doubled haploids for development of high quality hybrids adapted to local and regional growing conditions.

“Agriculture has a significant role in socio-economic fabric of India. Our investment in this multi-crop research centre demonstrates our ongoing commitment to harness DuPont global science to create local solutions for Indian farmers and help address food security challenges,” said Balvinder Singh Kalsi, president - DuPont South Asia & ASEAN. “The new research facility will play a pivotal role in understanding regional challenges, weather changes, soil types and applying science to develop higher yielding products suitable to the Indian environment.”

“We are pleased to build this type of cutting-edge plant research facility in India where some of the greatest opportunities to address global food security exist,” said Sharad Khurana, country manager - DuPont Pioneer India. “Working closely with the farmers across India, we know, they expect us to develop novel products that are widely adaptable to different soil types and weather conditions and are able to offer higher yields consistently with better tolerance towards pests and diseases. This facility will help us bring them the required crop solutions for the future.”

Over the last few years, DuPont Pioneer has expanded its global research capacity and competencies by building similar research centres in the United States, Brazil and China.