Menu Close

President Obama Highlights Missouri’s AgTech Strength in Keynote Address

  • June 22, 2016

insight20

On June 20, 2016, President Barack Obama gave the keynote speech at the 2016 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington DC.

At the 2015 “summit, an agricultural tech company from Surat [India] met economic development representatives from Missouri and within a year, it established its US headquarters in St. Louis,” President Obama said during his speech. “We want more success stories like these.”

 

The company, Lacgene Technologies, is focused on providing innovative, natural, agricultural products and solutions using genetics, chemical processes and nanotechnology. AgTech is a key Missouri strength, encompassing all of modern agriculture including plant science, animal health, big data and modern, sustainable farming practices. The US organization operates as Blue Orb Solutions.

“Lacgene had participated in the SelectUSA Investment Summit in March 2005,” Dr. Lalji Balar told the Times of India. “Earlier we were considering nearly a dozen other states, but finalized St. Louis [Missouri] because of its strength in the agritech industry.”

The Missouri Partnership and the St. Louis Regional Chamber were key partners in ensuring Lacgene’s efficient entrance into the US market. The organizations provided direct support and worked to find the best location and solutions for Lacgene as the sought to establish their headquarters within Missouri which is becoming known as the global leader in AgTech.

SelectUSA is a U.S. government-wide program housed in the International Trade Administration at the United States Department of Commerce. Since its inception, SelectUSA has facilitated more than US$ 19 billion in investment, creating and/or retaining thousands of U.S. jobs.