Research & Development

FMC has a culture of innovation. We believe that great ideas can come from any level in the organization. As a team, we are in constant pursuit of new and differentiated technologies that help protect and improve the productivity of farms across the globe.

FMC's global R&D team, including biologists, chemists, weed scientists, entomologists, plant pathologists and molecular biologists, is guiding one of the most robust discovery and development pipelines in the agriculture industry. FMC also uses external collaborations, partnerships and investments to enhance the diversity of our research efforts. We have invested in—and partnered with—companies that are complementary to our own efforts.

Innovation Insight

Thaisa Hugenneyer, Executive Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain and Chief Sustainability Officer

July 8, 2025

Innovation for Agriculture. Solutions for the Planet.

Innovation Insight

Dr. Seva Rostovtsev, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer

July 11, 2024

The Power of Partnership: Collaboration is vital to advancing crop protection

An Award-Winning Pipeline

FMC is accelerating the speed of crop protection innovation and advancing the discovery and commercialization of our new active ingredient pipeline to help growers and farmers address the wide range of challenges they face. FMC's pipeline is highly valuable because we're biased for new modes of action and our scientists are passionate about discovering new molecules that will become technical and commercial winners.

Discovery

Discovery is where we identify and create new molecules the world has never seen to control pests that challenge growers. We focus on molecules that meet future registration requirements and criteria for a successful, competitive commercial product. We screen more than 60,000 compounds annually. Our goal is to advance one new molecule from Discovery to Development annually.

Development

Successful molecules will progress from Discovery to the Development pipeline. The Development pipeline has its own set of gates where product offerings are defined, regulatory studies are conducted, sustainability assessments are performed, formulations for specific crops and regions are created, and the product is prepared for commercial launch. In total, it takes 10 to 13 years to discover, develop and launch a commercial product.