Initiative offers financial support for novel approaches and enabling technologies in crop research
Bayer announced that it has opened the application window for its Grants4 initiative. First introduced in 2015, the initiative offers researchers financial and scientific support to develop ideas for novel solutions, including gene editing targets,that will help to achieve higher yield and safety in crops as they face increasing pressure from weeds, insects, diseases, and unfavorable climate conditions. Deadline for submissions is November 15, 2019.
“Our research and development platforms are bolstered by our ‘open innovation’ model,” said Phil Taylor, Corporate Innovation and R&D Business Partner for the Crop Science division. “Grants4Traits exemplifies that approach, providing outside researchers the resources to create solutions to control existing crop threats and get ahead of emerging ones.”
“At Bayer, we have a multidisciplinary research and development team focusing solely on biological solutions – but we can’t do it alone,” said Benoit Hartmann, Head of Biologicals at Crop Science. “We also count on strengthening our crop protection portfolio by forming collaborations with innovative partners, which is one reason why we created Grants4Biologicals.”
Bayer is looking for novel approaches that could lead to innovative solutions in five categories: Yield enhancement, Pest control, Disease control, Weed control and Enabling technologies.
There are two types of grants that will be allocated by Bayer, depending on the approach/trait described, the scientific data provided and the maturity of the proposal. Support grants from 2,000 Euros to 10,000 Euros are for proposals that are at a very early stage of discovery, and focus grants from 10,000 Euros to 50,000 Euros are for more advanced proposals to support promising research towards fully validated solutions. The size of the individual grant will depend on the target specifics and the state of development and validation.
