Dr. Johnny R. Thomas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AgriBioTech, Inc. (NASDAQ National Market: ABTX) announced today a biotechnology commercialization and equity stake agreement between AgriBioTech and Global Agro, Inc. of Encinitas, California, a technology resource organization focused on plant agriculture.

As an equity owner in Global Agro, AgriBioTech will have worldwide rights, exclusive in certain crops, to technology at Global Agro, including rights to technology from The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Global Agro has an agreement with The Salk Institute which allows the company to commercialize and license specific proprietary technologies developed by The Salk Institute's Plant Biology Laboratory. The Salk Institute is an equity owner of Global Agro.

The AgriBioTech worldwide exclusive technology rights are for all turfgrass species and for all forage grasses and certain forage legumes. The proprietary technologies include a package of proprietary genes that appear to regulate plant growth and development. This technology offers the potential to develop traits of significant interest in turf grass and forage species, including enhanced gene expression, enhanced root growth, enhanced vegetative growth for rapid generation of biomass (yield) and increased disease resistance.

"We are pleased and excited about this agreement," said Dr. Tom Rice, Vice President and Director of Research at AgriBioTech. "It means we will have access to a portfolio of genes from a leading plant genomics program that could well lead to important product breakthroughs and new traits for our customers."

"Accessing market opportunities for our technology portfolio is one of our primary objectives," said Gary H. Richardson, President of Global Agro, Inc. "AgriBioTech's commitment to Global Agro is important to us in achieving that goal." Global Agro, Inc. is located in the San Diego, California area and is working with several other companies to build a plant biology campus focused entirely on plant technology in agriculture.