First Bayer ForwardFarm launched in Belgium

Bayer CropScience has inaugurated the first Bayer ForwardFarm in the Belgian town of Huldenberg. The “Hof ten Bosch” farm owned by Jan and Josse Peeters brings together farmers, scientists and academia, technology partners and other players throughout the value chain, politics and regulators, as well as consumers, with the goals of exchanging agricultural know-how and forming partnerships to jointly promote the important role of agriculture in society.

"There has to be a balance between raising agricultural productivity while protecting biodiversity and maintaining our responsibility to the community. Since joining the Bayer ForwardFarming initiative, we have benefited from a broad range of innovative solutions that enable us to manage the challenges of sustainable farming,” said farm owner Josse Peeters at the inauguration ceremony. “The collaboration with the dedicated Bayer team has been very enriching for us and has opened our eyes to a number of new approaches.”

"We approached the Peeters family because of the long heritage of their farm, the multitude of potential projects and their willingness to look beyond conventional solutions,” explained Marc Sneyders, Head of Bayer Marketing & Sustainable Development in Belgium. “At Hof ten Bosch, we are able to put our ideas into practice, under realistic circumstances, in collaboration with real farmers. This unique approach should help us give today’s agriculture the sustainable impetus it needs,” explained Carsten Dauster, Head of Bayer CropScience in Benelux.
 
"Our aim is to bring our Bayer ForwardFarming initiative, with its combination of integrated crop solutions, proactive stewardship and partnerships, to other countries worldwide starting in Europe,” added Dr. Birgitt Walz-Tylla, Head of Sustainability & Business Stewardship at Bayer CropScience.

Bayer CropScience is convinced that sustainable agriculture requires a holistic approach to strengthen farmers’ livelihoods and conserve natural resources today and in future.

Bayer ForwardFarming is a knowledge platform for sustainable agricultural practices, designed to further stimulate the dialog within the industry and beyond. Today’s agriculture is faced with numerous challenges: the increasing demand for food as a result of the continuously growing world population, the decline in available arable land, limited natural resources and climate change. Bayer CropScience is convinced that the answer lies in an integrated concept for sustainable agriculture that takes into account a number of economical, ecological and societal criteria.