Syngenta is to build a new £100m research centre for agricultural bioscience, a move hailed by the government as a vote of confidence in the UK’s science base. Switzerland-based Syngenta said the new bioscience hub would focus on a range of technologies such as biological pesticides – the next generation of crop protection. Called BioSTaR (Biological Sciences Technology and Research), it will bring together its bioscience operations under one roof, including 300 scientists. Camilla Corsi, global head of crop protection R&D at Syngenta, said: “We are focused on creating a more productive and sustainable future for agriculture. Syngenta faces several thousand lawsuits brought by people in the US who allege they developed Parkinson’s disease due to their exposure to paraquat.

Source: The Guardian March 16, 2026 19:18 UTC