24 September 2020
Vehari, September 24, 2020 – Bayer Pakistan’s Crop Science division organized a Farmer Learning Center for cotton farmers and channel partners on September 24, 2020 at a local farm in Vehari.
Cotton is an important cash crop and the lifeline of Pakistan’s textile industry. However, the crop has been on a steady decline in recent years due to uncertain weather conditions, insufficient availability of certified seed and pest attack. To help arrest this trend, Bayer Pakistan educated farmers on the challenges faced by the crop, demonstrated the importance of adopting agronomic best practices and showcased latest agriculture technologies.
The one-day event offered over 200 farmers and stakeholders from Vehari district an opportunity to observe cotton field trials, receive detailed briefings on best farming practices and modern technologies, and interact with technical experts to discuss specific topics or questions pertaining to cotton crop. An added feature of the event was a farmer expo where seed businesses, technology providers and drone operators exhibited their products and services for the benefit of farmers.
Maria Saleem, Country Commercial Lead at Bayer Pakistan Crop Science, believes that farmers need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to improve their productivity. “Bayer is providing customized agronomic solutions and focusing on knowledge transfer activities through these learning centers to ensure a holistic learning experience for the farmer,” Maria explained.
“We will continue to find novel ways to connect with smallholder farmers and help them embrace technologically advanced approaches to agriculture,” she added.
Bayer Pakistan also continued to leverage digital media to provide beneficial information to farmers. As part of this effort, all information sessions, trial visits and hands-on demonstrations were broadcast live via Facebook. This allowed Bayer to reach out to over 450,000 Facebook users with 202,000 views and 2,500 engagements for the live stream.
Chaudhry Asif a prominent local farmer, appreciated the opportunity provided by Bayer Pakistan to learn about the challenges and solutions for the cotton crop and the latest developments in agricultural technology.
“The Learning Center is an educational forum for farmers to interact, question and test these technologies and agronomic practices for ensuring better yields. I look forward to putting the knowledge we acquired here into practice for healthier crops and improved productivity,” said Asif.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
Hafsa Zubair, Head of Communications and Public Affairs
