News

Participants at the Crawford Fund Annual Development Conference in Canberra, Australia, this week heard Bill Niebur, vice president – DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development, address global food security, increasingly recognized as a key to national security. He stressed the importance of well-designed and executed public and private partnerships.

“Global food security challenges are complex and interconnected,” Bill said.  “Increasing agricultural productivity amid global climate change, political instabilities, shrinking availability of arable land and growing world populations presents challenges no single company, government or research institution can solve. Partnerships between public institutions and private companies must have clear goals, inputs and timelines in place and offer distinct benefit to all parties.”

He cited several successes that rely on multiple public and private organizations around the world to focus their resources, talent and expertise on a well-orchestrated plan.

Strategically focused on increasing food production, DuPont is investing more than $700 million annually in research and development, filing more than 200 germplasm patent applications in the first half of 2009. 

To learn more, read this news release.