ROSARIO, Argentina & ITHACA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (“Bioceres” or the “Company”) (NYSE American: BIOX), a fully-integrated provider of crop productivity solutions designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality, and Nature Source Improved Plants (“NSIP”), an advanced optimization analytics company dedicated to the genetic improvement and breeding of high-performing plant materials for agriculture, announced today a research and services agreement to design and establish a fast-paced HB4® Soybean breeding program in the United States utilizing NSIP's advanced analytics and comprehensive suite of predictive breeding technologies and expertise.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, NSIP will employ its computational optimization technologies to enhance the research, mapping and prioritization of drought-prone growing areas in key international markets, enabling Bioceres to more efficiently develop targeted HB4 seed varieties and therefore speed and strengthen future breeding and go-to-market activities. Other expected benefits are lower development and trialing costs associated with the utilization of NSIP’s Operations Research based technologies.
Commenting on the agreement with NSIP, Mr. Geronimo Watson, Chief Technology Officer of Bioceres, said, “With the benefit of NSIP’s genome breeding technologies, we are designing an advanced breeding program to accelerate product availability and go-to-market partnerships in the US, where we expect our proprietary drought-tolerance technology to quickly gain a foothold. Incorporating NSIP’s computational technologies into the development of HB4 Soy and Wheat seed varieties will also help us better target a wider range of drought-prone growing regions around the world, as well as bring them to market faster,” concluded Watson.
Dr. Suresh Prabhakaran, Chief Operating Officer of NSIP, said, “Our aim is to be trusted partners to meet the current and future food needs of our global community by advancing the frontiers of genomics and production technologies. We are excited to leverage complementary expertise of NSIP and Bioceres to help farmers increase productivity.”
The U.S. National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) reports that during the week of September 30 to October 6, 2020, over 69.1 million people and 37.2% of land area in the U.S. experienced moderate to exceptional drought. Droughts are among the costliest natural disasters, with average annual losses in the United States estimated in the range of $10 to $14 billion dollars. For more information on the most up to date drought activity please visit the U.S. Drought Monitor here and to follow the agricultural sector click here.
Drought can reduce both water availability and water quality necessary for productive farms, resulting in significant negative direct and indirect economic impacts to the agricultural sector. Drought can also contribute to insect outbreaks, increases in wildfire and altered rates of carbon, nutrient, and water cycling—all of which can impact agricultural production, critical ecosystem functions that underpin agricultural systems, and the livelihoods and health of farming communities.
About Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp.
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX) is a fully integrated provider of crop productivity technologies designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality. To do this, Bioceres’ solutions create economic incentives for farmers and other stakeholders to adopt environmentally friendlier production practices. The Company has a unique biotech platform with high-impact, patented technologies for seeds and microbial ag-inputs, as well as next generation crop nutrition and protection solutions. Through its HB4® program, the Company is bringing digital solutions to support growers’ decisions and provide end-to-end traceability for production outputs. For more information, click here.
About Nature Source Improved Plants
Established in 2006, Nature Source Improved Plants (NSIP) is an advanced optimization analytics company located in New York, USA and Chiapas, Mexico; and dedicated to the conservation, evaluation and utilization of natural genetic resources to deliver high performing plant materials and creating value and efficiency through innovative and sustainable cutting-edge technologies for the global community. NSIP is focused on maximizing genetic performance via a unique pipeline of new breeding technologies based on genomics, operations research and other advanced fields of mathematics and computer science. NSIP's advanced genetics and breeding technologies have resulted in significant increases in productivity and quality across a wide variety of field, vegetable, perennial and orphan crops, while minimizing R&D costs. NSIP is also focused on the development of high throughput and high-fidelity in vitro propagation techniques to meet the needs of growers – especially those involved in the production of perennial plantation crops. For more information about NSIP, please visit: NSIP, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube.
Forward-looking statements
This communication includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “forecast,” “intend,” “seek,” “target,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “outlook,” and “project” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends regarding the agreement between Bioceres and NSIP or that are not statements of historical matters. . Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s reasonable current assumptions, expectations, plans and forecasts regarding the Company’s current or future results and future business and economic conditions more generally. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievement of the Company to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from management’s expectations or could affect the Company’s ability to achieve its strategic goals, including the uncertainties relating to the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, operations, liquidity and financial results and the other factors that are described in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings updated from time to time. The preceding list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all of our forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are or were made, and the Company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.