Bayer will continue to support green and digital development of China's agriculture

German company Bayer's agriculture division Bayer Crop Science in China and China's National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center (NATESC) under the Ministry of Agriculture jointly launched the Action Plan for Enhancing Green Development Capability in Beijing on Wednesday.

The plan, a large non-profit training project co-sponsored by Bayer and the NATESC, is an important topic under the framework of Sino-German agricultural cooperation.

To respond to the needs of green and quality development in Chinese agriculture, it aims to build green development capacities among key players, such as local officials and technicians in agriculture, executives in new types of agribusinesses, serve organizations and lead in co-operatives.

The project will be implemented for five years from 2019, covering all provincial regions.

In an interview with China Daily Website on Tuesday, Jesus Madrazo, a member of Bayer's executive leadership team and head of Agricultural Affairs and Sustainability for the Crop Science division of Bayer, said the company, sensing tremendous opportunities in China, is constantly looking for opportunities to expand its operations in China.

"There is a broad recognition that China has made tremendous progress in not only advancing food security, but also about the quality of what is grown, and grow it not only more but also better, better for the consumers and better for the environment."

He said Bayer, having been operating in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, plans to be here for many decades to come to support the agricultural development and introduce the best products and technologies.

Bayer Crop Science Greater China Country Head Huang Weidong said China has been vigorously supporting the development and upgrading of agricultural industry and opening the door to new technologies, new business models, digital agriculture and digital-related applications.

He said Bayer will remain committed to bring innovative products, optimize integrated solutions for various crops, and provide training to farmers to help them master the most suitable methods and get better returns.

"One of our future priorities will be to help growers better understand the data from their own fields and use the insights in their farm management," Huang said.

Speaking of the sustainable development of agriculture, Madrazo reviewed the profound transformation that agriculture has experienced in the past 20 years.

"Farmers today are more aware that they need to do agronomic practices that are more precise, conserve natural resources and produce more food in the same piece of land. The more we are able to produce food in the same piece of land, the more we are saving trees and the more we are preserving bio-diversity, the environment has a better chance to thrive."

Madrazo said in the next 20 years, there will be more innovative technologies to support farmers to practice sustainable agricultural production.

"The combining chance of advanced breeding technologies that makes the seeds smarter and more productive, together with modern crop protection products that are friendlier to the environment, coupled with biological technologies that really helps explore the power of microorganisms in the soil, with digital tools as integrators, you bring all of these together."

In June 2018, Bayer completed its acquisition of Monsanto, a US seeds and agrochemicals company, and became the world's largest supplier of seeds and agricultural chemicals.

"We are a leader of agriculture," Madrazo said, "when you look at our new, integrated company there are three specific aspects that excite us: First one is our top innovation ability; Second one is leading the digital transformation in agriculture; and the third one is we have a real opportunity to shape sustainability for the benefit of farmers, consumers and our planet."