Mysore, June 15, 2020: Bayer CropScience Limited is partnering with ITC Limited’s Agri Business Division to extend the reach of its Crop Protection products through ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform. The partnership has commenced as a pilot project in Mysore, Karnataka and will gradually be expanded to other geographies across India.

With Covid-19 disrupting farming operations and on-farm advisory, this initiative will help farmers avail agri-inputs and digital advisory on a timely basis. ITC & Bayer are jointly training and on-boarding retailers in the Mysore region, to cater to farmers’ orders placed through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform. Field Officers from both companies have also received extensive training on product knowledge and technical advisory to support farmers.

Over 42,000 ITC farmers, covering 60,000 hectares across 1,100 villages in Mysore region will benefit from the partnership with Bayer. Farmers can place their order for Bayer products through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform and track their orders. Farmers without access to smartphones can place their orders online with assistance from Bayer & ITC’s field staff or even place offline orders.

Speaking about the partnership with ITC, D. Narain, CEO & MD of Bayer CropScience Limited, said, “Farmers in India often struggle to get access to agri-inputs, training and advisory under one roof. Lack of modern technologies and good agricultural practices hamper crop productivity and farm profitability. At Bayer, we are looking at meaningful collaborations to create greater value for farmers and the entire agri eco-system. Bayer’s partnership with ITC aims to offer tailored solutions, enabling farmers to achieve better harvests and progress to sustainable agriculture. We also plan to leverage ITC’s extensive rural reach to create capacity building for adoption of greater product stewardship and traceability of produce.”

Elaborating on the partnership with Bayer, Sanjiv Rangrass of ITC Limited, who has been driving the e-Choupal 4.0 initiative said, “While agronomic advisory is essential to the farmer, information on best practices alone is not sufficient to improve their profitability. Farmers routinely battle adulteration, product non-availability and arbitrary pricing. Consequently, they are not able to make informed purchasing decisions. Therefore, it is essential to provide farmers with access to the right set of products and services. ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform aims at providing on-demand crop advisory linked to products & services across the value chain. ITC’s collaboration with Bayer will enable access to quality inputs by digitalizing the local marketplace eco-system for farmers. This will leverage Bayer’s expertise in agri-inputs and ITC’s deep-rooted linkages with farmers through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform, thereby creating value and a brand of trust for the farmers.”

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. Capital expenditures amounted to € 2.9 billion and R&D expenses to € 5.3 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About ITC Agri Business Division

ITC Agri Business, a Division of ITC Limited, is one of the leading domestic players and largest exporters of agricultural commodities. It works with farmers to improve the productivity and quality of various crops and sources the finest of Grains, Oil Seeds, Pulses and a range of value-added agri products such as Processed Fruits, Coffee and Shrimps across multiple geographies in India. Backed by decades of expertise, the business deploys customized infrastructure and technology to supply these products to discerning customers in India and over 60 markets worldwide.
ITC Agri Business' unique strength is the extensive backward linkages it has established with the farmers. A powerful illustration of this unique business model is the pioneering ITC e-Choupal initiative that delivers largescale societal value by co-creating markets with rural communities. The initiative has won numerous awards, including the United Nations Development Program World Business Award, the Stockholm Challenge Award, and the Development Gateway Award.

Media Contact

Saswati Panigrahi
Communications,
Bayer CropScience Limited
E-mail: saswati.panigrahi@bayer.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports, which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.