Plant biotechnology at BASF

Our activities in the field of plant biotechnology are part of the Bioscience Research technology platform. Research and development expenses, sales, earnings and all other data are not included in the Agricultural Solutions segment; they are reported under Other.

With our network of research sites, we help farmers meet the growing demand for increased agricultural productivity as well as better nutrition. With a pioneering platform for gene identification, we have specialized in the development of plant characteristics such as higher yield, herbicide tolerance, disease resistance and quality traits. Our goal is to optimize crops so that farmers can achieve greater and more secure yields. In this way, we make an important contribution to securing a better food supply for a growing world population. We also contribute to sustainable agriculture, as the cultivation of these plants significantly reduces the amount of land, water and energy required to produce each metric ton of harvested crops.

Together with Cargill, we are developing a rapeseed oil that represents a new source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, for example. The first regulatory dossier was submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in November 2017. Market launch is planned from 2020, subject to regulatory approval. We are also working on a soybean that is resistant to the devastating Asian soybean rust disease. A number of lead genes have been successfully tested in field trials in Brazil.