- Home
- Sustainability & Commitment
- 'Corporate Positions'
Conserving Biodiversity
Conserving Biodiversity
|
It is a matter of course for Bayer CropScience and a clear commitment to protect biodiversity. It goes without saying that we are committed to integrating the preservation of biodiversity into our research and development activities. We maintain a research program designed to continually enhance our understanding of the interactions between ecosystems and our technologies. |
Our contribution to maintaining and improving biodiversity
A constantly growing global population is generating an increasing demand for high-quality food in adequate quantities and at reasonable prices. The growing importance of renewable raw materials is confronting modern agriculture with an additional challenge. Intensified cultivation of existing arable land is the only way to achieve the necessary increase in productivity. The protection of biodiversity is a fundamental precondition in this context – because functioning agricultural ecosystems are vital in ensuring a reliable supply of food.
Bayer CropScience promotes the management of agricultural ecosystems through integrated crop management (ICM) – a holistic concept that aims to create a balance between the economic, social and ecological dimensions of sustainability. In this way we are creating a framework for good agricultural practice.
The products and services offered by Bayer CropScience make a substantial contribution to agricultural production which ensures that biodiversity is protected as much as possible in everyday farming practice. Our herbicides, for example, enable the soil to be worked conservatively, leading to a higher humus content, better soil characteristics and ultimately to a healthy soil microflora. Modern application technologies such as seed dressing ensure that crop protection products are used precisely, and in this way protect beneficial organisms and our environment.
High-quality hybrid seed from Bayer CropScience makes a major contribution to boosting the productivity of crops such as rice, cotton and canola. It is vital to increase yields on existing arable land if expansion into marginal soils is to be avoided. This is another, indirect, contribution to maintaining biodiversity.
Bayer CropScience supports farmers in structural activities designed to increase species diversity, such as the greening of field margins. We promote the use of certification systems for sustainable agriculture and help farmers to achieve a differentiated position within the value-added chain.
Species diversity – a major requirement for sustainable development
It goes without saying that we are committed to integrating the preservation of biodiversity into our research and development activities. We maintain a research program designed to continually enhance our understanding of the interactions between ecosystems and our technologies.
A loss of biodiversity means risks for our society which are comparable to those associated with climate change. Agriculture is the focal point of discussion centering on these risks. Agricultural practice has a special responsibility when it comes to protecting common resources such as fertile soil, clean air and water and genetic resources. This responsibility is increasingly becoming the target of agricultural support programs, but at the same time it is also at the center of the social debate surrounding sustainable agriculture. This discussion is bound to intensify in the coming years in view of the need to increase agricultural productivity by 70 percent by the year 2050 – the target that needs to be reached if the world is to have enough to eat.
Social Media 
Social Media
Print Version
DEFINITION
Biodiversity
Biological diversity, in short biodiversity, is the variety of all living organisms and is characterized at three levels: genes, species and ecosystems. It comprises all animals, plant species and micro-organisms.