In an interview with The Financial Express, Stranges also said that the combine was in discussions with IBM to develop "co-operation" to supply various IT solutions to the company. This initiative forms part of an overall global strategy to use e-commerce and IT opportunities for growth.

"Our challenge will lie in the ability to transform accumulated intelligence/know-how into immediate and meaningful services for our customers. That way our organisation will be most competitive. We all have the same computer sytems, SAP, but it is how we work with technology, and get people wired. It needs a reactive organisation," he said.

Aventis CropScience hopes to offer farmers a more holistic service, possibly via alliances with software companies, fertiliser companies, machinery companies."The electronic media will play a big role on how we relate to customers and internally as a global company, " he said On the proposed merger of Aventis CropScience India (formerly AgrEvo India) and Rhone Poulence Agro, he said, "The important thing for us to ensure that Aventis CropScience operates with one face to customers and gains synergies in econmies of scale, cost, operational excellence etc.

In India, the legal structure is rather complex. We have manufacturing sites, seed sites, a 100 per cent company and a joint venture company. We want take enough time to ensure that we have the most effective legal structure with respect to our partners." Stranges said that though the two companies have two boards, they share a common CEO- V Sagar Kaushik and CFO, M Ramesh. "The products sold by one company will continue to be sold by that company. There will be no transfer of products/people. We should be able to make a decision on the merger between the third and fourth quarter of this year," Stranges said.

On whether the parent company plans to hike its stake beyond 51 per cent in Aventis CropScience India, "This is one of the options we will look at but if you make a merger, then by default this will happen, " he said.

On the role of genetically modified crops, Stranges stressed that there was no doubt that biotechnology would play a major role in Aventis' objectives to double yields. " For me it will be as natural, in 20 years, as the use of computers. There are difficult hurdles. We spent 10,000 years crossing wheat varieties, rice varieties. Now by crossing genetic structures you can manipulate cross genetic structures. What biotechnolgy will be able to do is to map out the genetic structures, freeze gene structures you do not want to change and only change those you want. The benefits are plenty".

Stranges said that today there are two million children in China suffering due to under supply of vitamin A and if you can take this vitamin A and transplant into rice, you will be able to make substantial quality improvements in their lives.