Monsanto Co's long-term growth plans, which include new crop-boosting technologies and expansion into new markets, relies heavily on data science, the "glue that holds the pieces together," Chief Executive Hugh Grant said on Wednesday.
The world's largest seed company is also "very bullish" on its push into microbials, microbe-based products that it believes can help drive crop yields higher, he said.
His comments at the company's investor day gathering in St. Louis highlighted two recent moves: a partnership with enzyme maker Novozymes in 2013 and its nearly $1 billion purchase of data science company The Climate Corporation in the same year.