Syngenta Enters into Research Collaboration with China's Academy      

Syngenta announced February 10th that it has agreed an eight-year research collaboration with Anhui Rice Research Institute (ARRI) of Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China. The collaboration program is centered around conducting laboratory and field tests of novel gene functions and will focus on drought tolerance and nitrogen utilization optimization in key crops such as corn and soybean. ARRI will work closely with Syngenta's new biotech research and technology center in Beijing which was opened in October 2008.
   The research agreement is part of Syngenta's efforts to work closely with Chinese academics. In 2007, Syngenta entered into a five-year research collaboration with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) in Beijing on the development of novel agronomic traits for key crops such as corn, soybean, wheat, sugar beet and sugar cane.