Bayer CropScience plans to invest up to £4 billion into its research and development programme by 2016.
The investment is expected to help develop new solutions in seed, chemical and biological crop protection for growers.
In the same time frame, the research giant also plans to invest an additional £1.6 billion in new production and seed processing facilities.
“We aim to lead the way in sustainable crop solutions, and we are heavily investing in our research and development, as well as production capacities, to respond to global demand for differentiated crop solutions,” explained CEO Sandra Peterson at Bayer’s annual conference.
Peterson is confident that significant investment across the board will create unique products that can return a profit quickly.
“We believe the products that are in our pipeline of new seed, small molecules and biological crop solutions hold significant promise in the market, and expect the peak sales potential for our products being launched from 2011 to 2016 to be at least EUR 4 billion,” pledged Peterson.
In August, Bayer CropScience acquired US organic pest control company AgraQuest, giving it a foothold in the so-called biologics market, which is expected to triple in value to almost £2.6 billion by 2020.
Peterson also expects Bayer's seeds business, formerly referred to as BioScience, to double its sales by 2016 after it recorded a 21 per cent sales leap for the first half of 2012.
“We expect our seeds business to account for 20 per cent of overall company sales in the next 4 years and we’re proud of its rapid growth,” concluded Peterson.
