Bayer CropScience granted rice breeding exclusive rights to Fazenda Ana Paula

Bayer CropScience has announced an agreement granting it exclusive worldwide license rights to the rice breeding program of the Brazilian company Fazenda Ana Paula, specialized in hybrid rice breeding. This agreement will enable Bayer CropScience to further enhance its breeding capability and development of hybrid rice for Brazil and further expand its global hybrid rice business. Financial terms and other details of the deal were not disclosed.

With this agreement, Bayer CropScience gains access to the unique rice germplasm developed by Fazenda Ana Paula, strenghtening both its existing hybrid breeding program and its geographical presence on a global basis.

"Hybrid rice will play an important role in meeting the need for increased global rice production demanded by over half the world’s population. We are already a world-wide leader in hybrid rice seed with Arize®, and we intend to enhance our hybrids further – with superior genetics and a world-class hybrid seed operation”, said Dr Mathias Kremer, Head of the business unit BioScience at Bayer CropScience.

"Fazenda Ana Paula started the hybrid rice breeding program in 2000. We brought to Brazil and Uruguay a team of specialists from China to help us run the research project. We are very proud of the results achieved and we strongly believe that this deal with Bayer will lead the program to the next level”, said Haroldo Pimentel Stumpf, Head of the Research Division of Fazenda Ana Paula.

Bayer CropScience also has a leading presence with its crop protection products in rice. With this agreement, Bayer CropScience will be able to further meet the challenges of rice production through tailored, sustainable and high performance solutions from seed to shelf.