Bayer has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in India with ADM to build and implement a sustainable crop protection model for soyabean farmers at Latur, Osmanabad and Beed districts of Maharashtra and subsequently in Karnataka.

In India, ADM’s principal business is processing of oilseeds into edible oils, animal feeds and feed ingredients and human nutrition ingredients. ADM has a large network of farmers in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, through Krishi Vikas Kendras’ (KVK) network of over 50 crop-development and procurement centres.

The centers are staffed by agronomists, who offer local farmers training in best agricultural practices, and procurement services. ADM’s Sustainability Program creates opportunities for small landholding farmers to get training in socio-economic and environmental sustainability principles and third-party audits, through the European organisation, ProTerra Foundation.

Reaching out to soybean farmers

Bayer aims to reach 25,000 soybean farmers in ADM’s network in the first year. During the period, Bayer will provide a specialised schedule of crop management prepared in consultation with ADM and agricultural universities for all the crops in the working area as and when required. It will also develop a crop protection package for all crops of soybean and pulses by providing legally permitted, non-hazardous crop protection chemicals as allowed under sustainable crop production principles.

ADM will provide Bayer with details regarding the partner farmers and area of operations. Bayer will follow a Seed to Market approach, with the inclusion of sustainability elements such as complete package promotion of seed treatment, pesticides, and agronomic advisory, along with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. It will also demonstrate good agricultural practices on demo plots and conduct field visits for extending practical experience to farmers. The MoU will be valid for a period of three years.

On goal to achieve self-sufficiency

Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head - Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, said, “In contrast to cereal production, India is far from self-sufficient in edible oil production, importing nearly 60 per cent of its domestic edible oil requirement. Increasing the yield of soybean cultivation sustainably is essential to reduce import dependency and increase the income for soybean farmers to increase the attractiveness of the crop. We are thankful to ADM for their willingness to be a part of creating a holistic ecosystem that will help improve smallholder farmer incomes by sustainably enhancing their soybean yield through the right market linkages and helping India achieve self-sufficiency.”

Amrendra Mishra, MD, ADM India said “This partnership is aimed at training the farmers to adapt responsible agricultural practices and progressively enhance the level of compliance to sustainable standards of agricultural production. Together, Bayer and ADM are making a tangible, positive impact at the field level by partnering with farmers to not only focus on environmental security, but also on food security.”

Training

Regular training will be provided to the ADM cluster agronomist team in soybean markets on complete crop cultivation practices such as nutrition and pesticide schedules, among others. ADM will help Bayer put in place an input supply mechanism for their member farmers. It will further ensure that the partner farmers are using the crop protection inputs as per expert recommendations of the Bayer team. Seed tTreatment training will also be provided through Bayer Roller Mixer machines at the sowing time following all safety protocols.

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