Bayer Grants for Crop Research Open for Application

Bayer is a global life science company whose research and development activities focus on pharmaceuticals, crop science and consumer health.

International funding is available through the Grants4Biologicals and Grants4Traits schemes to investigate novel approaches and enabling technologies that will help to achieve higher yield, quality and safety in crops.

Grants4Biologicals concerns microbial or biomolecular solutions in the following areas:

Yield enhancement – increased corn and soybean yield or yield components via proven mechanisms of action under standard agronomic conditions.

Pest control – microbial strains or defined biomolecules with proven activity against lepidopteran pests that could be produced through fermentation processes.

Disease control – microbials demonstrating potential to reduce fungal disease pressure on crops, in particular specified diseases affecting wheat, fruit and vegetables, and soybean.

Enabling technologies – approaches to optimise gene or protein expression, activity and regulation.

Grants4Traits supports scientific investigation that could lead to the following innovative traits in crops:

Increased yield under optimal growth conditions or abiotic stress conditions (including unfavourable climate conditions).

Protection against insect and nematode damage.

Reduction of fungal growth and symptoms.

Protection against commercial herbicides and reduced pressure from weeds.

Approaches to optimise gene or protein expression, activity and regulation.

Applications to either scheme are accepted from researchers based anywhere in the world who are employed by universities, other academic research institutes, and start-up and biotech companies.

There are two types of grants that will be allocated by Bayer depending on the approach, the scientific data provided and the maturity of the proposal:

Support grants: between €2,000 and €10,000 for proposals that are at a very early stage of discovery.

Focus grants: between €10,000 and €50,000 for more advanced proposals to support promising research towards a fully validated crop protection target.

The 2019 application cycle closes on 15 November 2019.

Scientists at Bayer will aim to assess proposals within eight weeks of this deadline.

More information about this research funding opportunity and the application process is available on the RESEARCHconnect funding information platform. RESEARCHconnect provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on research funding news and policy. To find out more about how RESEARCHconnect can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.