Bayer and Nestlé Signed MoU on Regenerative Agriculture, Shaping Low-carbon Food Value Chain in Rice

Date:11-08-2022

As an important area of carbon reduction, sustainable agriculture on all aspects of the agricultural food value chain is increasingly important. During China International Import Expo (CIIE)2022, Bayer Crop Science (China) Co., Ltd. and Nestlé (China) Co., Ltd. signed a MoU on the rice regenerative agricultural practice project, aiming to jointly explore and implement  the sustainable agricultural Practice to ensure carbon reduction and neutralization throughout the food value chain, and to jointly s apply innovative agricultural technology to enable in-depth development of green agriculture and the achievement of the goal of "carbon neutrality". 

 

 

Powerful combination on joint exploration and practice to reduce agricultural carbon emission

To achieve the global sustainability goals set for 2020, Bayer Crop Science is pursuing its vision of "Health for All, Hunger for None" by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from key crops by 30 percent in key regions and achieving net-zero emission″ by 2050, in addition to support 100 million smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. Nestlé is a leading global food company. As a leading global food and beverage company, Nestlé attaches great importance to promoting a sustainable business model and corporate social responsibility, and is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. "The roadmap is based on Nestlé's and Bayer's commitment to sustainable agriculture. Based on the high level of convergence between Nestlé and Bayer's sustainable agriculture goals, this partnership on regenerative agriculture practice on rice comes at the right time.

 

At the signing ceremony, Cynthia Wei, Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability of Bayer China, and Wang Shiping, Agricultural Sustainable Development Manager of Nestlé Zone Greater China, signed the MoU. According to the agreement, both parties will jointly explore the feasibility of regenerative agriculture, focusing on rice crops, and carry out a series of  programs at Nestlé China's rice farm in Heilongjiang Province, including soil health, water management, crop total solution, precision agriculture technology application and capacity building training, to achieve the goal of carbon sequestration and reduction in all aspects through food value chain and drive for sustainable agricultural development. 

 

Play the industry demonstration effect and create a win-win situation 

It is worth mentioning that Bayer and Nestlé have been cooperating in the global agricultural field for many years and have lauched projects in many countries. The cooperation on regenerative agriculture signed at CIIE is the first time that the global cooperation between the two companies being launched in China,and is expected to provide excellent demonstration effect in agricultural carbon reduction for the Rice Value Chain. For this, Ronald Guendel Gonzale, Bayer Global Head of Partnerships- Food Value Chain and Veerle Mommaerts, Senior Manager of Partnership – global food value chain expressed their greetings on the cooperation between the two companies by video. 

 

In his speech, David Fang, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability - Nestlé Zone Greater China, said, "With the Chinese government's clear 3060 'double carbon' target, sustainable development and green transformation of the economy and society have been brought to an unprecedented height. Both Nestlé and Bayer are committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which shows that their sustainable development goals are highly compatible, and the joint cooperation to promote the rice regeneration agriculture project is in line with common goals. The strong alliance between the two companies in the field of agricultural carbon reduction will promote agricultural science and technology innovation, promote the development of green agriculture, contribute to the realization of the 'double carbon' goal, and set a benchmark for other food chain partners throughout agricultural value chain, driving the low-carbon transformation in agricultural industry."

 

 

Mr. Gao Yong, Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability of Bayer China, said, "We are pleased to see the high degree of consensus between Bayer and Nestlé in promoting sustainable agricultural development and building a low-carbon agricultural industry chain in China. We hope that with this cooperation, we can truly enable environmentally friendly and green innovative agricultural technologies to deeply empower the 'farm-to-table' industrial value chain, and set a new model for the innovation of sustainable development model of Chinese agriculture."