There has never been a more important time for innovation in agriculture as it is the key to addressing the challenges facing the global food system.

At Bayer, we’re committed to delivering better solutions for all farmers, to help them, consumers and our planet thrive.

Innovations in plant breeding help enable more choice for consumers while addressing the challenges facing the global food system. That’s why we invest more in plant breeding research and development annually than we do any other agricultural research and development platform.

Nearly everything you’ve ever purchased at a grocery store has been improved through plant breeding. Plant breeding provides farmers with crops that are better suited for their environments and consumer preferences by making use of the genetic diversity that exists naturally within each crop family. Identifying and isolating the genetic characteristics that help solve farmers’ challenges is difficult and time-consuming. Through generations of research and discovery, plant breeding has advanced beyond selecting a parent plant simply based on its appearance. It now includes an in-depth understanding of the genetic makeup of a plant, giving breeders the ability to better predict which plants will have the highest probability of success in the field and the grocery store before making a cross.

These innovations have opened the door to new opportunities for agriculture. Understanding genetic variation offers insight into which plants carry the features (known as traits) that will help them combat environmental challenges like pests, disease, or drought. Some plants are better adapted to certain climates and more resistant to changing environmental conditions, improving their chance of survival, which leads to more productive harvests.

But plant breeding is not just about addressing environmental challenges. Plants can be bred to improve quality and to meet consumer preferences, which leads to a reduction in food loss and waste.

The plant breeding advances within every seed we sell help farmers continue to improve upon what they’ve done for thousands of years, even in the face of significant challenges like a changing climate, limited natural resources, and reduced arable land, as well as increased consumer demands like size, color, storability, and taste.