The FINANCIAL — Rice is a key crop in Asia and a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, especially in Asia and Africa.
With an expanding world population and a corresponding increase in food consumption, production needs to be raised. However, demand has grown faster than productivity increases in recent years. In addition, farmers today face numerous challenges, from the impact of weather fluctuations, labor shortage, to limited resources including arable land and water, according to Bayer is, a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials.
“Rice is life, literally, in Asia and through working very closely with the rice farmers, we have a deep understanding of their challenges and needs,” said Tobias Marchand, Head Region Asia Pacific, Bayer CropScience. “The backbone of rice farming in Asia is smallholder farmers. If we want to improve their livelihood and the economic situation at large, we need to focus on rice. In this context, we believe that helping farmers to sustainably increase their yield is of utmost importance,” Marchand added.
At the Rice Future Forum, Bayer CropScience presents its innovative and integrated portfolio of solutions based on advanced technologies. One of these examples is the ‘Much More Rice’ initiative – an integrated rice production program based on hybrid seeds, crop protection products, as well as consultancy and advisory services. Working closely with farmers to better understand their needs, the ‘Much More Rice’ solution is designed to improve rice yields and quality, while at the same time promoting sustainable agriculture. Originating in Vietnam, the ‘Much More Rice’ solution has seen resounding success and has spread to other countries in Asia, including China, Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia. Results from more than a thousand trials proved an average increase in yield of about 20 percent, leading to a corresponding increase in farmer income, according to Bayer AG.
However, boosting rice productivity and quality in a sustainable manner cannot be the lone effort of a single corporation. While the private sector continues to invest in science, products and services, wider challenges – such as insufficient education and training, political and economic instability, poor infrastructure, as well as loose legal frameworks – call for the collective efforts of many other multi-stakeholders.
“At Bayer CropScience, we believe that agricultural innovation can only benefit farmers and society at large if there is a coordinated and concerted effort between the public and private sectors to create an enabling environment. This means facilitating public-private partnerships to research, develop, commercialize and promote new solutions,” said Hartmut van Lengerich, Head of Cereals and Fungicides Strategy at Bayer CropScience. He continued: “We are therefore committed to working in strong collaboration with governments, the industry and non-governmental organizations to drive partnerships and help address the challenges facing rice farming,” he added.
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