October 4, 2014
Monsanto to invest US$90 million in corn research in Mexico
Over the next five years, Monsanto is expected to invest US$90 million in a new Mexico-based corn seed research center.
Based in Tlajomulco de Zuniga on the southern fringe of Guadalajara, the center will develop conventional hybrid strains of corn which are tolerant to diseases as well as biotic and abiotic stresses that affect cultivation.
However, the new corn seeds will not harness genetically modified organisms (GMO) and is not connected to Monsanto's pending applications to expand beyond pilot plantings of GMO corn in Mexico, said a Monsanto spokeswoman.
She added that Monsanto'sresearch efforts seek to contribute to the doubling of global corn output by 2030.
So far, the company was reported to have spent US$64 million, since 2009, on land, buildings, equipment and operational costs associated with three other research centers.
Those facilities are dedicated to developing better corn and sorghum seeds in the Jalisco, Guanajuato and Nayarit states.