Bayer is building on the power of emerging new technologies to create a sustainable and resilient food system and help farmers produce more with fewer resources while reducing emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere.
“Bayer’s R&D (research and development) investment of 2 billion euros annually in our Crop Science division is unparalleled in the industry, leading to a robust innovation pipeline spanning seeds and trait technologies, crop protection and digital solutions valued at up to 30 billion euros peak sales potential over the next two decades – with approximately half accounting for incremental growth,” said Rodrigo Santos, Bayer AG Board member and Crop Science president.
On the basis of a technology called RNAi, Bayer recently launched the first-ever biotech defence against corn rootworm, enabling farmers to control a pest that costs around 1 billion euros annually in crop damage while reducing the need for crop protection.
With its short-stature corn, planned to launch as part of Bayer’s newly introduced Smart Corn System in 2023, Bayer is going to bring a more weather resistant plant to the market.
Short-stature corn is able to withstand extreme conditions emerging from climate change, thus reducing the risk of crop loss and contributing to food security.
Leveraging its unparalleled digital farming platform, Bayer is a leading force in the decarbonization of agriculture.
The Bayer Carbon Initiative incentivizes farmers to embrace the use of climate smart practices such as no-till or cover crops.
It uses next-generation technology to quantify and track the impact of these practices, underlining Bayer’s pioneering role and its unique position in advancing digital capabilities for the food, feed, fuel, and fiber value chain.
Bayer held last April 1 its first ever Breakthrough Innovation Forum.
In conjunction with the event, Bayer announced that it is accelerating its investment in its Leaps by Bayer impact investment unit with more than 1.3 billion euros funding until end of 2024.
“We stand at the dawn of a new age of innovation in the Life Sciences,” said Werner Baumann, Bayer AG chairman of the Board.
“Our ability to tackle some of the greatest challenges is increasing rapidly. From providing answers for incurable diseases, equipping people with preventive tools to live healthier, better and longer lives, to producing more agricultural output whilst significantly reducing inputs and respecting the planetary boundaries. This ability is particularly driven by the accelerating confluence of biology, chemistry, advanced computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence.”
Leaps by Bayer follows a unique approach aimed at tackling ten of humanity’s biggest challenges such as curing cancer or reducing the environmental impact of agriculture.
“Over the past seven years, we have invested more than 1.3 billion euros across a portfolio comprising more than 50 companies – all geared towards shifting core paradigms in the sectors of Health and Agriculture,” said Jürgen Eckhardt, Head of Leaps by Bayer.
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