Bayer CropScience, the agricultural arm of Germany company Bayer, has announced it will invest nearly US$1 billion in its North American businesses between 2013 and 2016 as a result of 'positive long-term market development' in the region. 

The company's CEO Liam Condon said Bayer CropScience was committing significant resources to spur further growth.

"We see future growth driven by increasing and sustained demand from customers for improved seeds and innovative crop protection products," he said at the official inauguration of the company’s new integrated research and development (R&D) site in West Sacramento, California.

"We are investing heavily in R&D infrastructure such as laboratories, greenhouses and breeding stations as well as new production capacities and seed processing facilities."

The expenditure is part of the company's US$3.3 billion global investment program that started last year.

A release explained Bayer CropScience was seeking to better leverage the full research and development capabilities by consolidating and expanding its global R&D organization.

The new West Sacramento site, which also serves as the global headquarters of Bayer CropScience’s Biologics Business, has the capacity to house up to 300 employees.

In addition to building its R&D network in the U.S., Bayer CropScience is also investing heavily in the production capacities of its crop protection products, including measures to further optimize its supply chain with the aim of increasing flexibility and allowing it to thrive despite market volatility.

Approximately US$90 million in its Cotton Research and Development Laboratory in Lubbock, Texas, with a further US$17 million go into expanding the Memphis, Tennessee, R&D site.

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