Bayer CropScience Acquisition Expands Indian Vegetable Offerings

Posted by Dan Jacobs|1 June 2015

India is the world’s second largest tomato producer.

Bayer CropScience will acquire SeedWorks India Pvt. Ltd. The Hyderabad-based company founded in 1998, specializes in breeding, production, and marketing of hybrid seeds of tomato, hot pepper, okra and gourds.

“This is an excellent opportunity to underpin our leading market position in India in strategic crops like tomato, hot pepper and okra,” said Joachim Schneider, Head of Vegetable Seeds at Bayer CropScience. “We will be able to offer our customers an even broader choice of high-yielding hybrid seed varieties adapted to the country’s diverse and challenging growing conditions.”

“We are delighted by the opportunity to join the vegetable seed business of Bayer,” said Balaji Nukal, Managing Director of SeedWorks India. “The financial and technical resources of Bayer will further strengthen our ability to bring the highest quality seeds to our farmers, and the breadth of activity afforded by this affiliation will open a world of opportunity to our employees.”

“India is expected to become the world’s most populated country, passing China around 2028 and therefore faces a fast-growing demand for affordable food,” emphasized Schneider. “By strengthening our footprint in India’s vegetable seed sector, we aim to make a strong contribution to increasing the productivity and quality of important food crops and give our full support to the nation’s smallholder farming base.”