RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — A North Carolina biotechnology firm says it will spend $70 million to expand its research facility that finds ways to help farmers improve their yields.

The Herald-Sun of Durham reported that Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. will begin construction next month on a 147,000-square-foot facility in the Research Triangle Park. The company employs 400 people in the park near Raleigh.

The company is a subsidiary of Swiss-based agrochemicals giant Syngenta.

Syngenta Biotechnology president Michiel van Lookeren Campagne says the facility will help researchers improve productivity on several key crops including corn, soybeans, sugar cane, rice and vegetables.

The new site will include greenhouses and growth chambers that will allow researchers to control a variety of factors that affect growing conditions.