July 23, 2019, Netherlands/ India: KeyGene, the crop innovation company based in Netherlands, the United States & India, and Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. (MASL), a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, today announced a multi-year strategic research collaboration for key field crops.

KeyGene's crop innovation platforms will be used for the development of economically important and market relevant traits. This technology collaboration will yield highly productive and more resilient varieties of crops helping to deliver on Mahindra’s FarmTech Prosperity brand promise. Most significantly, the collaboration will ensure crop resistance to abiotic stresses such as drought & heat, and biotic stresses like pests and diseases, in MASL’s proprietary germplasm.

Commenting on this new partnership, Ashok Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited, said "At MASL, we are committed to Farming 3.0, the new age of farming that encompasses a range of advanced techniques to elevate the entire agri-ecosystem, through the provision of customized products and solutions using sustainable global technologies. KeyGene is a global leader in crop innovation and we are excited to leverage their expertise, next generation technologies and trait platforms to develop highly productive and more resilient crops for both the Indian market and new geographies. I am confident that this strategic global collaboration will be a win-win for both the companies."

"We recognize MASL's commitment to farmers and regard it as a leader in the arena of bringing innovative solutions to the market, based on state-of-the art breeding technology and a strong germplasm base. We are excited to embark on this journey with MASL and support them in accelerating their breeding programs using our proprietary technologies and know-how. This will result in improved non-GM crop varieties and increased MASL business in India and Asia", said Arjen van Tunen, CEO of KeyGene.

This collaboration will enable MASL's growth in existing key markets as well as new markets and deliver superior hybrids in focus crops, helping drive the company’s seeds business into the next orbit of growth. It will further result in delivering FarmTech Prosperity and increase farmers’ income.

About KeyGene - The crop innovation company

KeyGene is the go-to Ag-Biotech company for higher crop yield & quality. With our intellectual capital, solution driven approach and collaborative spirit, we work for the future of global agriculture with partners in the Agri-Food sector. Using our proprietary technologies and non-GM approaches, we support customers with the development of new and improved crops. Our goal is to help organizations with their toughest R&D challenges, combining our cutting-edge breeding technologies, bioinformatics & data science expertise and plant-based trait platforms. At KeyGene, we work in an international environment with more than 140 professionals from all over the world. Our company is based in Wageningen, Netherlands and Rockville, MD, USA. www.keygene.com

About Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited - The agri solutions company

Mahindra Agri Solutions (MASL) is a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a part of the USD 20.7 billion Mahindra Group. With a vision to Deliver Farm Tech Prosperity, we interact closely with farmers to improve their produce, quality and productivity by providing the latest advances in farm technologies and agricultural know-how. We also help farmers by linking them to the market to provide better returns for their quality produce, thereby improving their lives. Our wide portfolio of inputs viz. Seeds, Crop Care, Micro Irrigation Services backed by high quality advisory through Samriddhi outlets, we at MASL have successfully helped Indian farmers increase their productivity over the years. MASL also has strong output business consisting of Fruits and Vegetables and Dairy where again close link with the farmers allow it to provide products that stand for quality and purity. Our Seeds Business has established R&D programs in Rice, Corn and Pearl Millet in Field Crops and Hot pepper, Tomato, Okra and Watermelon in the vegetables. Given the focus on quality, technology & strong brand image, the company is well on course to become one of the leading brands for Hybrids seeds in the Indian market, making its small contribution to delivering prosperity to farmers in the country.

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, components, commercial vehicles, speedboats, consulting services, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, steel, aerospace, defence and two wheelers. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 240,000 people across 100 countries.

Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise