Bayer has announced a $160 million commitment focused on helping end global hunger as part of the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge.

Companies taking the pledge commit to investing money, resources, and expertise in areas of concern within regions where they do business. To that end, Bayer will help smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America access seeds that contain the latest technology, educating communities on sustainable agricultural practices, providing growers with farming solutions, and introducing smallholder farmers to new income-generating opportunities. 

Bayer will focus its commitments on multiple levels, including investing more than $100 million in research and development to enable smallholder farmers to receive improved varieties of quality seeds critical to local diets such as okra and bitter gourd and gain access to innovative farming solutions designed to reduce field and post-harvest losses, such as in the Ansal tomato. An additional commitment of more than $50 million for Bayer’s Arize hybrid rice will provide even more growers with seeds designed to improve yield while also optimizing water and nitrogen efficiency.

“At Bayer, where we work every day toward realizing our vision of Health for all, Hunger for none, it’s agonizing to know that one in every 10 people worldwide goes to bed hungry,” said Rodrigo Santos, a member of the board of Bayer AG and president of the company’s Crop Science Division. “This crisis affects us all and needs the support of everyone to solve it. Our pledge further puts into practice Bayer’s commitment to help end hunger through alignment of our investments and business operations to achieve this goal.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/boezie)