Stewardship, Food and environment
Bayer CropScience recognises the crucial importance of promoting environmentally-friendly practices in agriculture and horticulture. It is committed to sustainable agriculture and supporting sustainable food chains. As part of this commitment to farmers and the wider agricultural industry, it has set up a dedicated team to cover Environmental and Food Industry Stewardship, as well as agricultural policy.
Stewardship
To ensure the continued use of existing and new, highly beneficial crop protection products, it is critical that the whole agricultural industry demonstrates the highest level of stewardship. This means taking all possible steps to raise standards of handling and usage, and miminimising any possible risks to health and the environment.
Food Chain
World population is forecast to increase to nine billion by the year 2050, and the United Nations predicts that 50 per cent more food will be required by then. Ways have to be found to deliver a plentiful supply of food in a sustainable manner. By continuing to research and develop innovative crop protection solutions, Bayer is helping to protect yields and quality and ensure that we can grow as much food as required on as little land as is practically possible here in the UK. This is sustainable intensification in practice. Bayer looks to work across its own business functions and with external bodies to tackle the issues raised by climate change.
Our products are designed to deliver the best yields and highest quality of crops. We encourage growers to use the right solution for the right job, and to use our products as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy. This is designed to help to preserve beneficial insects and help to keep them in balance with the environment.
Since 2007 we have been working with growers and suppliers to reduce residues, while maintaining the quality of the crop. You can find out more information about our MiniMizer project here.
Before products come to market they must undergo rigorous testing in order to gain regulatory approval. It can take up to nine years, and £200 million worth of investment before they are allowed to be used by farmers and growers. Once they come into use Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are set for all products, and these must be complied with. Click here to find out more about product development and MRLs.
As part of our commitment to sustainable development in agriculture, we have a number of food chain projects across the globe, including table grapes in Spain, watermelons in Malaysia, vegetables in China, the Green Field Alliance in the USA and the Green World initiative in Kenya. To download further information about all of these projects and more, please click here
Sustainability
Within Bayer CropScience we are fully committed to playing our part in preserving and enhancing biodiversity as well as advising our customers on how they can enhance biodiversity on their farms. Click here to find out more about our approach to biodiversity. We also run two Biodiversity Centres at Chishill and Shelford.
In order to conform with legislation, protect the environment and achieve the levels of control required, it is critical that farmers and growers optimise their crop spraying techniques. We have worked with Knight Farm Machinery to provide advice on the best ways to ensure that this is always the case. Click here to find out more.
Bees are hugely important to agricultural production. In recent years, bee health in the UK and many other countries has been severely compromised. The major factor in honey bee decline is generally acknowledged as infestation with the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. In addition to Varroa, there are a number of viral and fungal diseases that are also damaging bee colonies throughout the UK. Find out more about bees here.
