St. Louis, Missouri and Changsha,
China
April 3, 2009
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) and
Hunan University today
announced that they have entered into a four-year research and
licensing agreement focused on identifying novel plant genes
with attributes such as higher yield, drought resistance and
enhanced nitrogen utilization.
With the increasing global demand for food, fuel and fiber, the
need to use the best technologies to grow more crops on each
acre of farmland is a high priority for both the public and
private sectors. The research program at Hunan University will
employ novel tools and methods to systematically study the
function of genes that could have broad applications in major
field crops.
Monsanto is committed to collaborating with scientific
communities in China and around the world to find ways in which
agriculture can meet the demands of a growing world population,
said Steve Padgette, vice president of biotechnology for
Monsanto.
“We have been impressed with the resources and intellectual
capabilities at Hunan University, particularly with the support
from the university administration and the scientific expertise
they bring to this collaboration,” Padgette said. “With the best
resources from both parties combined, we expect the project to
produce not only first rate science, but also potential
discoveries for future products that could benefit farmers and
consumers worldwide.”
The collaboration will further support the company’s commitment
to double yields in our core crops by 2030, reduce by one-third
key inputs such as water and nitrogen, and help improve farmers’
lives, Padgette said.
“We are excited to form this relationship with Monsanto, the
leading agriculture company in the world,” said Keli Liu, Party
secretary general of Hunan University. “This provides an
excellent opportunity for our scientists to interact with their
peers at Monsanto, and develop internal capabilities for future
scientific discoveries and product development. We look forward
to a fruitful collaboration.”
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains
focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to
produce more from their land while conserving more of our
world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn
more about our business and our commitments, please visit:
www.monsanto.com.
Hunan University is located in Changsha, capital city of Hunan
Province. It is a key university affiliated with China’s
Ministry of Education and included in China’s “211 Project” and
“985 Project”. The university, dating back to Yuelu Academy
founded in 976 A. D., the most famous academy of the Song
Dynasty (960 – 1279), is one of the oldest institutions of
higher education in the world. To learn more about Hunan
University, please visit:
www.hunu.edu.cn. |
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