DuPont established new seed research centers

Date:09-18-2009

DuPont recently announced the addition of four new seed research centers in developing countries and expanded operations at three existing facilities to develop seed to meet local needs for food productivity. 

This additional plant breeding capacity is part of the $700 million in research and development DuPont is committing annually to increase global food production.  The investment also reflects the company’s recently announced commitment for growth in emerging markets.

The new research centers include a multi-crop center in Ukraine for corn, canola and sunflower research; and corn research facilities in Beijing, China, and Udaipur and Vijayawada, India.

Research operations at facilities traditionally focused on sorghum in Manhattan, Kan. (U.S.), and Plainview, Texas (U.S.), will be expanded to include additional resources for corn drought testing.  Also, cotton will join pearl millet and rice as crops with research programs in Hyderabad, India.

"The addition of these research centers allows us to strengthen our capabilities in these markets even further, bringing better genetics and traits that meet specific growing challenges to our customers faster,” said Bill Niebur, vice president – DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development.

These facilities are the latest in a series of research centers DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred has opened within the last year, including a new corn and soybean research center in North Carolina (U.S.) and a multi-crop facility in Carman, Manitoba (Canada), for corn, canola and soybean research.

These new additions extend the research leadership Pioneer has built and bring the total number of Pioneer research centers to nearly 100 worldwide.

To see a 3.5-minute video featuring Bill and customers in the U.S., China and Ukraine talking about the importance of local research, click here.