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Discovering Innovation for the Farm
Our R&D work begins in discovery. We have built a gene-screening engine with the ability — unmatched by our competitors — to screen thousands of genes efficiently and to identify those with the greatest potential.
This year, our biotechnology program will screen and test more genes in crops than in any other year in our history. Combined with our advanced breeding techniques, this work enables us to generate tens of millions of critical data points that are the raw material for real enhancements across our crop platforms.
While we’re constantly enhancing the high-throughput capabilities of our in-house R&D discovery work, we’re also enriching our discovery flow with an extensive network of third-party collaborators. We currently have active agreements with more than 500 entities in the private and public sector around the world.
Monsanto has become the partner of choice for discovery companies both large and small because we are recognized as an established path to market for their best ideas. Our multiyear collaboration with BASF, is dramatic evidence of this.
Our third-party alliances deliver real benefits:
- First, they increase the flow of high-performing genes into the pipeline, which enables us to identify better product candidates to advance.
- Second, alliances give us low-risk access to emerging technologies that have the potential to increase the efficiency of the development process.
- Finally, our alliances in developing international markets such as Europe, China, India, and South America allow us to establish relationships with the best and brightest people throughout the scientific and commercial community. These relationships not only complement our R&D program, but also provide allies who can be valuable advocates in the regulatory process and in gaining acceptance in areas where adoption of biotechnology is still nascent.
TAPPING INTO THE NEXT WAVE OF INNOVATION
Each year, we work with companies throughout the world to discover the next wave of innovation for the farm. Our approach ensures that we’re constantly feeding our pipeline with rich, new discoveries — discoveries that complement our research and deliver a series of upgrades to the farm. For example, we’re working with Evogene Ltd., based in Israel, to improve nitrogen use efficiency in corn, soybeans, canola and cotton. Nitrogen fertilizer represents one of the largest input costs in U.S. agriculture, accounting for approximately one-fifth of a farmer’s operating costs. On average, U.S. corn farmers spend more than $3 billion annually on nitrogen fertilizer applications, with plants typically absorbing less than half of the application.
