Bayer and Vietnam’s National Agricultural Extension Center Honoured with “Public-Private Partnership of the Year” Award for ForwardFarming Initiative

• Bayer and Vietnam’s National Agricultural Extension Center (NAEC) were honoured with the prestigious "Public-Private Partnership of the Year" at the GovMedia Conference & Awards 2024 for their joint initiative, Bayer ForwardFarming.
• This recognition highlights the significant impact of their collaborative efforts, fostering collaboration throughout the rice value chain, promoting sustainable farming practices, and ultimately creating a prosperous future for farmers and the community.

Singapore, 13 June 2024 – Bayer and Vietnam’s National Agricultural Extension Center (NAEC), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, were recognised with the “Public-Private Partnership of the Year” award in Agriculture at the GovMedia Conference & Awards 2024, organised in Singapore. This acknowledges the remarkable success and significant impact of their collaborative efforts through the ForwardFarming project in the Mekong Delta, which aims to promote sustainable rice cultivation practices in Vietnam.

Forward Farming, launched in September 2023 through a three-year partnership between Bayer Vietnam and NAEC, focuses on sustainable production by integrating crop protection, seed treatments and knowledge sharing with farmers. Significant and consistent results have been observed across three crop seasons, with a 13.5% increase in yield and reductions in inputs, water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and early indications of soil quality improvements compared to traditional practices. Additionally, the project has successfully reached over 4,500 rice growers, providing training on sustainable farming practices, the safe use of crop protection solutions, and climate change mitigation strategies in agriculture.

“We are grateful for our partnership with NAEC and the dedication of all stakeholders involved in ForwardFarming,” said Mateus Barros, Cluster Head of Crop Science Division, East Asia & Pakistan, Bayer. “This recognition inspires us to leverage our 30 years of experience in Vietnam, foster collaboration with more partners across the rice value chain, drive innovation, and place special emphasis on regenerative farming practices in order to make a positive and lasting impact in the agricultural sector.”

Bayer Vietnam and NAEC have laid out several future plans to advance the ForwardFarming initiative. Ongoing work will focus on conducting further research and evaluations to more effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve rice quality. The partner network will be expanded to reach more farmers in the Mekong Delta region. This aims to improve the livelihoods of farming communities while also supporting the Vietnamese government’s target of establishing 1 million hectares of sustainable, high-quality, and low-emission rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta region.

About GovMedia Conference & Awards

The GovMedia Conference & Awards is a prestigious event recognising outstanding government projects and initiatives in Asia that positively impact the well-being of the region’s people. Esteemed experts, including leaders from Ernst & Young LLP, PwC Singapore, and KPMG, evaluated entries for the 2024 awards programme.

This year’s conference celebrated exceptional country-level projects, presenting 23 awards to businesses and government organisations. The projects focused on improving citizen experiences through citizen-centric solutions, enhancing productivity and efficiency for government agencies, and achieving transformative outcomes with high adoption rates.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. In line with its mission, “Health for all, Hunger for none,” the company’s products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to address the major challenges presented by a growing and ageing global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact through its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2023, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 47.6 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.8 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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