DowDuPont's agri division to be headquartered in Hyderabad

DowDuPont, world's largest chemical company, will have the headquarters of its agriculture division in Hyderabad, a Telangana minister said on Tuesday.

Telangana's Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao said that the company's decision was conveyed by James C. Collins, Chief Operating Officer, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont during a meeting here on Tuesday.

DowDuPont, formed in August after merger of Dow Chemical and science and technology company DuPont, also chose Hyderabad as its South Asia headquarters.

The Minister said the company will also explore possibility of exporting seeds to other countries.

During the meeting with the Minister on Tuesday, Collins was accompanied by Krysta Harden, External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont and other officials.

They said the company had significant presence in Telangana. The Minister shared the innovative RICH platform created by the Telangana government and about the upcoming Seed Park project highlighting their efforts towards making Telangana the seed bowl of India.

In 2014, DuPont had opened its newest multi-crop research centre (MCRC) here to bring innovation to multiple crops that are grown locally thereby improving the productivity of Indian farmers.

Spreading over more than 100 acres, MCRC is engaged in corn, rice, millet, mustard and cotton hybrid seeds development catering to the farmers in the Indian subcontinent.

Harden spoke about how worldwide, women play a critical role in agriculture. They also discussed about a conference on women in agriculture.

--IANS

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