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Food Security – We mustBAYER

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collaborate to avoid a
humanitarian disaster
The human tragedy that continues to unfold in Ukraine has shocked and
saddened us all. What has also become clear is the suffering will be magnified
as the repercussions are felt across the global food system. Simply put: the
war has knocked the global food system – already strained as a result of
COVID and climate change - off its axis. We risk turning this humanitarian
disaster into a massive global food crisis unless we urgently collaborate on
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 tangible steps to address the impact head on.

According to the UN Global Crisis Response Group, food shortages, fuel

price hikes and the debt burden brought on by the war in Ukraine can
severely impact 1.7 billion people across 107 economies. We need to stabilize
our global food system quickly, consciously and sustainably. Countries
worldwide, weakened by the pandemic, need clear-headed partnerships
between the global agriculture players, the up-and-coming innovators,
governments, and NGOs. Now more than ever, this cannot be the undertaking
for one organization alone.

We must all play a role, and as a global leader in agriculture, Bayer has a
responsibility to act. As the impact on food supply ripples out from Ukraine,
we are activating our resources and network to address three key priority
areas: supporting Ukrainian farmers, stabilizing supply in the Middle East and
East Africa, and ensuring long-term climate-adaptability.

The war hit Ukraine’s agricultural system during the spring growing season.
Ukrainian farmers have worked around the clock to maintain their crops in
the conflict zone, but they are expected to harvest less than half of the
usual 80 million tonnes of grain this year. We have donated 40,000 bags of
seed to grow food on nearly 30,000 hectares. The seeds will support 1,250
small farmers in Ukraine who have difficulty in accessing input for the 2022
growing season.

Sadly, this will be a drop in the ocean if the free flow of food, fuel, and
fertilizer out of the region is hampered.

In parts of the Middle East and East Africa that rely on Ukraine and Russia for
grain, food supply chains have already been directly disrupted. The UN has
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 reported that food prices grew by 34 percent in the year to March, with
cereal prices increasing by 37 percent. These impacts, acutely felt by the most
fragile countries and communities, will not be solved with more barriers or
export restrictions. Food protectionism should play no role in our world today.
We continue to call for safe import corridors as well as for more humanitarian
aid. Countries must release their grain stocks on the market and support the
hunger relief efforts of the UN World Food Program.

Farmers in many parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia are struggling to
maintain their harvests. Spiraling costs, fertilizer shortages, and severe
weather are working in concert to erode profits and reduce abilities to
increase production. Bayer is halfway to meeting the goal it set itself in 2019
to support the productivity of 100 million smallholders by 2030 with training,
guidance, and access to innovative seed and crop protection tools. And as an
industry, we must inject targeted resources to smallholder farmers, to support
the vital role they play and dampen food volatility. This is why we made a 160
mn USD commitment to the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge dedicated
to end hunger. Bayer’s commitment will go toward communities in Asia, Africa
and Latin America.

Lastly, we must plan and act to ensure climate resilience in global agriculture.
Farmers must grow more food using fewer resources. This is not an easy feat;
it requires innovative leaps in plant science, digital technology, and crop
protection.

Firms like ours are already investing in these more resource-efficient, carbon-
smart agricultural solutions, on our own and increasingly with others. For
example, short-stature corn is much better at withstanding extreme weather
caused by climate change and can help to ensure the food supply for millions.
We also need a priority focus on fertilisers, developing biological alternatives
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 to artificial fertiliser. Not only is artificial fertiliser responsible for four percent
of global greenhouse gas emissions, but its supply is heavily dependent upon
Russia. We are accelerating our work and partnerships in this area. But as we
look to the potential of increasing collaboration with innovative biotech
pioneers we must ensure that we communicate the positive environmental
benefits that come with these innovations, working in partnership with public
institutions and NGOs.

As corporate leaders we must rise to these challenges. We must work

together, work quickly, and renew our focus on the long-term objective of a
safe, sustainable supply of food. Food needs to sit right at the top of the
global policy agenda. This is a crisis that cannot – and should not - be tackled
alone.

Authors:
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 Ertharin Cousin: Founder and Chief
Executive Officer of Food Systems for
the Future, Member of the Supervisory
Board of Bayer AG

Rodrigo Santos: Member of the Board

of Management of Bayer AG, President
of the Crop Science Division
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 Find out more about our contribution to food
security
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