Bayer CropScience Davis California

Herbicide and pesticide manufacturer Bayer CropScience says it is on track to grow sales towards €10 billion in 2015 as global demand for its products grows.

The company is planning to increase production of its crop protection ingredients significantly, chief executive Liam Condon said at the company’s annual press conference in Monheim, Germany.

The company is adding €1bn to its investment program, bringing total capital expenditure between 2013 and 2016 to €2.4bn.

“A growing global population, changing diets and increasing weather volatility are affecting food supply and need to be addressed today,” said Condon. “Demand from farmers for our products is increasing so strongly that we’re significantly stepping up our supply chain capacity to serve farmers around the world with much needed innovative agricultural solutions.”

The company will spend €380 million building a new plant in Alabama for the production of the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium, marketed in the US under the brand name Liberty. The company says its target is to more than double global supply of the product.