August 16, 2012
Dow AgroSciences collaborates with Australian Centre for Plant Genomics
Dow AgroSciences and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) have entered a crop improvement research, option, and license agreement to discover and develop new traits for crop improvement.
Under terms of the agreement, both ACPFG and Dow AgroSciences will utilise their trait discovery and development capabilities to create plants with improved environmental stress response and agronomic performance.
"We''re excited to partner with the scientists at ACPFG," stated Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., global leader, Research & Development, Dow AgroSciences. "As a leader in plant genetics and genomics research, ACPFG has key capabilities in understanding the basic mechanisms of how plants respond to stress. Together, we have the potential to bring valuable new solutions to the agricultural market and farmers around the world."
Dale Baker, the Chairman of ACPFG, said "Dow AgroSciences is a significant company in grain development and production. This collaboration will mean that Australian growers have greater access to international resources and know-how. It will help us to ensure food-security and manage the adverse effects of climate variability." He added, "The support of our core funders has been instrumental in attracting Dow to Australia."
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of US$5.7 billion in 2011.
ACPFG was established in 2003 by the South Australian Government and the Australian Federal Government through the Australian Research Council and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. ACPFG scientists improve cereal crops'' tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought, heat, salinity and nutrient toxicities; major causes of yield and quality loss throughout the world and significant problems for cereal growers. The future resilience of our food production systems in the face of a changing climate will depend upon the development and delivery of new technologies.