From research labs to farmer’s fields: Meet the Singaporean chemists securing global food systems (and catching counterfeits along the way)

Corteva Agriscience is a global agriculture company providing farmers with seeds, crop protection and digital solutions to maximise productivity. Since establishing its Asia-Pacific head office here in 2019, Corteva has steadily built its Singapore footprint, most recently expanding its biological lab to boost regional R&D and quality control. This growth feeds directly into the bioeconomy, a rapidly evolving sector that uses biological science and innovation to tackle global food, agriculture and sustainability challenges. Today, it adds to Singapore's flourishing life sciences ecosystem, while opening up exciting new career paths for Singaporeans.

Esther Er is an Analytical Chemist at Corteva Agriscience. She has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master's in Chemical Science, both from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

1. What does a day in your life as an Analytical Chemist look like at Corteva?

I sit between formulation development, product quality and manufacturing, running tests and interpreting results to help teams decide what's working and what isn't when it comes to our products. No two days look the same. One day I'm troubleshooting quality issues at a manufacturing site, the next I'm deep in lab testing while developing formulations, or checking how different products mix together and hold up under different conditions before they reach a farmer's field.

Beyond the lab, I also support manufacturing sites across the Asia-Pacific region and North America, teaching quality control teams how to run the same tests we develop in Singapore. That way, they can catch and solve production problems themselves, and keep product quality consistent no matter where a product is made. It's a fast-paced role that combines science, teamwork and a fair bit of detective work, and it helps to be adaptable, as I often have to jump straight into action across different time zones.

2. What drew you to Corteva, and how did you get your start in this industry?

I studied chemistry at NUS, then spent five years in quality control labs, three at Bureau Veritas Singapore and two at Nestlé. That's where the itch started. I kept asking "Why does this method work this way?" rather than just, "How do I run it?" That curiosity eventually pushed me to look for something more research-focused.

This led me to join Corteva in 2018 when the Singapore lab was first established. It was the perfect platform that allowed me to transition into R&D. As part of the pioneering batch of employees, I played a meaningful part in setting up the lab and shaping its analytical capabilities from the beginning.

3. How has Corteva supported your growth, and what opportunities has that opened up for you?

When I first joined the company, I had a limited understanding of how crop protection products were applied in other countries, having been born and raised in Singapore, where such exposure is minimal. Corteva has opened doors I didn't expect. I've travelled to China to see how farmers use our products on the ground, and visited production sites in France, where I learnt how closely research and quality control teams work together to keep operations running smoothly.

I also helped move our lab testing onto digital systems. When the company began digitalising how we handle lab data, I was sent to Indianapolis to learn these new systems, which has made it easier for teams across regions to access historical data instead of having everything locked in one lab.

Corteva has also backed some of the biggest projects of my career. One of my first was Hibifen, an insecticide for rice farmers and the very first formulation produced in our Singapore lab. The timeline was tight, and the entire team was brand new to each other and the agricultural industry. But that early pressure paid off. Hibifen went on to win Best Formulation Innovation at the 2020 Crop Science Awards, and I later followed it through its production scale-up in India in 2023, where I saw Hibifen move from a lab-scale project to a fully commercialised product.

I also went back to school while working full-time, completing a part-time Master's in Chemical Science after more than a decade away from academia. Balancing coursework with the odd night call from a manufacturing site abroad wasn't easy, but the company and my colleagues were understanding throughout the two years it took.

4. What do you enjoy most about your job and why do you think it’s meaningful?

I enjoy the problem-solving side of this job most, especially when something unexpected turns up and I have to work out why. I'm often the person the formulation team comes to when there's a leftover trace substance that shouldn't be there, or an unknown impurity in the mix. Sometimes it's down to how different ingredients react once they're combined, other times it's about tracing back to where things went wrong. Either way, there's a real thrill in getting to the bottom of it. No two situations are the same, which keeps the work intellectually engaging and, more importantly, impactful. It's not a deskbound role in the way people might picture a "chemist".

With global supply chains under pressure from disruptions and tariffs, more production is shifting to regional sites, and part of my job is testing and approving alternative local raw materials so the company relies less on any single overseas supplier, without cutting corners on quality. I also help set up the same testing methods at new labs across the region, and occasionally get pulled into investigating counterfeit products, which has a direct impact on protecting farmers and consumers.

At the end of the day, it's this tangible impact that keeps me going. Whether it's improving product quality, supporting farmers, or helping to strengthen the wider agricultural industry, knowing my work makes a real difference is what makes it meaningful.

5. Why is the bioeconomy the industry to be in right now?

The bioeconomy is growing fast, with plenty of room for people who want to use science and innovation to make a positive difference. For me, it's exciting because it sits right at the intersection of some of our biggest challenges: resource scarcity, climate change, and food security. Seeing firsthand how these challenges create opportunities for us to use science to innovate is what drives me, and knowing this work can have a real impact on people's lives is what keeps me motivated.

For anyone interested in this path, I'd say stay curious and keep an open mind. You never truly know which career is the right fit until you take the first step and try it yourself. It's a bit like trying different cai png stalls – no matter how many reviews you hear, you won't know which one suits you best until you taste it. The same goes for careers: exploring different opportunities helps you discover your strengths and what path suits you.

Steiner Tan is a Formulation Chemist at Corteva Agriscience. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from NUS.

1. How would you explain your role to someone outside the industry?

At Corteva, I work as a formulation chemist in the Product Science and Technology team, which turns early-stage research into finished products ready for the field. My main focus is fungicides, which protect crops from disease. I'm also the go-to person in my team for digitalisation, looking at how we can capture and process lab data with more efficient digital tools.

Day to day, I run experiments, develop formulations and analyse data to keep everything within safety and quality standards. My work covers a mix of things: developing new formulations, preparing samples for field trials, helping new manufacturing sites get set up with the right processes, and providing technical support for products already on the market.

Beyond the lab, I work closely with teams outside R&D, including our digital teams based in the US, translating what we find in experiments into insights they can actually use. It's a role that mixes hands-on science with a fair bit of communication.

2. How did your journey from intern to Formulation Chemist at Corteva look like?

I first joined Corteva in June 2023, during my final year studying Chemistry at NUS, for a semester-long internship. I wanted real industry exposure before graduating, and Corteva stood out because of how seriously it takes R&D. Working under a mentor on formulation development during that internship gave me a real feel for agrochemical R&D and built up my technical expertise. More importantly, it showed me that the curiosity and problem-solving at the heart of R&D are exactly what I want in a long-term career.

I was offered a contract role when I graduated in June 2024, and then moved into a full-time position in December 2025. The jump wasn't instant, and each step brought more ownership than the last, from designing my own experiments to managing multiple projects at once. Looking back, the internship was really what made the rest possible: it's where I built the foundation and the relationships that carried me through the next two years.

One of my first real challenges was adjusting from the structured world of academic labs, where experiments are clearly laid out, to R&D, where I'd be handed a goal and had to work out the best way to get there myself. That took some getting used to, and I had to get better at planning my own experimental approach rather than following a set procedure.

3. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt at Corteva, and how has the team accelerated your growth?

What I've learnt is that good leadership makes all the difference, especially when you're starting out. Moving from intern to full-time was a significant shift, and my managers helped me settle in by connecting me with the right people across the company. Those introductions gave me a clearer picture of how the whole company fits together.

The clearest example of this was the Junior Rotation Programme I joined in 2026. Rotating through different parts of R&D showed me how each one helps bring a product from idea to finished result, stretching my technical knowledge beyond my own area of study. It also connected me with colleagues across global teams, which strengthened my communication skills and gave me a wider network to draw on in later projects.

I was recently entrusted to lead the development of an entirely new product from the ground up, which demanded a much deeper grasp of chemical properties, raw material interactions and system stability. With access to specialists in different areas and the freedom to design and run my own experiments, I was able to work with them to overcome the setbacks the project brought, and each one sharpened my judgement and gave me the confidence to make better decisions.

4. If someone asked you what keeps you going at work, what would you say?

This work never really settles, as there's always something to improve or figure out. Corteva's core value of "Be Curious" really is what keeps me going.

There's a bigger picture behind the day-to-day lab work. Knowing that a formulation I've worked on eventually helps a farmer get a better crop yield, and in turn supports food security is genuinely motivating. My team also places a lot of weight on collaboration, so a big part of the reward comes from working with people across different functions to get something that actually holds up in real-world field conditions, not just in the lab.

5. Why is the bioeconomy the industry to be in right now?

For me, it's a highly collaborative, global environment with plenty of space to take ownership and develop something of your own. Because you're working with people from different backgrounds and perspectives, you quickly realise that there's rarely just one "right" way to solve a problem.

That's why my biggest piece of advice is not to get too fixated on finding the perfect answer. In this line of work, there are often several different approaches that can lead to the same outcome. Once you let go of the idea that there's only one correct way, you'll feel much more comfortable testing ideas, learning from the results, and improving as you go.

At the same time, success in the bioeconomy does not come without challenges. Behind every successful formulation or breakthrough are numerous experiments, setbacks, and lessons learnt that often go unseen. For those considering a similar path, I would encourage them to embrace failure as part of the learning process and remain resilient in the face of challenges.