‘Bayer’s digital options will enhance farmers’ lives’

Werner Baumann, chairman of Germany‘s $50-billion agrochemicals-to-pharmaceuticals big Bayer AG, mentioned the corporate will make investments closely in India within the subsequent few years. Additionally the corporate’s chief sustainability officer, Baumann mentioned Bayer will assist the Indian authorities double farmers’ incomes over the subsequent few years. Baumann spoke with ET Prime’s Vikas Dandekar on the Financial Instances World Enterprise Summit about Bayer’s enterprise plans in India and what it goals to do on the sustainability entrance. Edited excerpts:

Bayer has been current in India for the final 125 years. That is a protracted historical past. How do you see your small business going from right here?

India is essential to us, wanting on the large footprint that this nation has. Our capacity to contribute in the direction of making these desires develop into actuality begins with entry to our merchandise throughout our total portfolio. Our largest presence is in agriculture, which is essential for India with the federal government’s give attention to doubling farmers’ revenue over the subsequent few years to come back.

How can Bayer play a task in serving to to double farmers’ incomes over the subsequent few years?

We will play a vital function with digital options that can allow smallholders to considerably enhance their livelihood and their household’s livelihood. In prescription drugs, we can provide higher entry to our cardiology and radiology merchandise, on the subject of higher analysis. Then there’s ladies’s well being and ophthalmology, the place we’ve got some crucial merchandise which are additionally changing into obtainable in India. For our shopper well being enterprise, we’ve got now entered the market immediately quite than by way of third events. Within the Indian market, we’re constructing and scaling up our shopper well being enterprise for the non-prescription a part of our enterprise.

What sort of funding plans do you might have for India?

We’re working in 3 companies. Now we have 14 manufacturing entities in India that we maintain and scale, and it’s within the triple million euros that we’re going to be investing within the years to come back.

You’ve steered Bayer’s sustainability theme throughout world operations.Your views on these objectives for India?

If we have a look at the chance and actually scaling it up, the primary identify that involves thoughts can be India, as a result of India has such a big inhabitants of smallholder farmers. Nearly 90% of all farmers are smallholders, and that could be a constituency that we cater to and that we are able to convey important advantages to. We do this with our “higher life” farming centres.As of final 12 months, we’ve got been working 1,000 of those “higher life” farming centres along with companions just like the Worldwide Finance Company to convey seeds, crop safety merchandise, agronomic recommendation, higher financing and entry to markets, and irrigation to folks on the bottom in order that they will actually enhance their farming practices and on the similar time cut back their carbon footprint. That is simply as necessary as creating a better harvest and, with that, extra produce for their very own livelihoods and in addition for the markets they’re working in.