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Bayer CropSciences contribution to
SUSTAINABLE
COTTON
PRODUCTION
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2.
3.
4.
5.
1. Introduction 41.1 Sustainable Development in Cotton 61.2 Bayer CropSciences Cotton Technologies and Solutions 7
Economic Viability 10
2.1 Economic Viability or Farmers 11
2.2 Economic Viability or Spinners and Merchants 14
Environmental Protection 16
3.1 Biodiversity 17
3.2 Water Use Eciency and Protection 19
3.3 Climate Change 20
3.4 ICM (Integrated Crop Management)/
IPM (Integrated Pest Management) 21
Social Equity 22
4.1 Employment and Job Creation 23
4.2 Health, Hygiene and Education 24
4.3 Labor Conditions 25
Conclusions 26
Content
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1. IntroductionSustainable Development was defned in 1987 by the Brundtland
Commission as: meeting the needs o the present without
compromising the ability o uture generations to meet their
own needs.1 In essence, sustainability strives to balance
environmental, social and economic considerations.
1United Nations. 1987. Report o the World Commission on Environment and Development,
General Assembly Resolution 42/187, 11 December 1987.
Or put in other words: Financial prosperity in the
long-term cannot be achieved at the expense
of the planet (environmental) or the people (so-
cial). The right balance has to be struck. Sustainability
makes perect business sense and it will continue to
be a dening characteristic o successul businesses
o the uture. An image commonly used to depict the
three dimensions o sustainable development is The
Three Pillars o Sustainable Development. It high-
lights economic sustainability, environmental protec-
tion and social responsibility. For Bayer CropScience,
sustainability is achieved when The Three Pillars o
Sustainable Development work in concert.
Our customers range rom small-scale armers with
less than one hectare o land, to large agricultural
business operators managing thousands o hectares.
Their needs and preerences are dierent. However,
our vision is the same or the whole spectrum o cus-
tomers, namely; to enable them to produce affordable
and good quality food and non-food crops in a socially
equitable, environmentally responsible and economi-
cally viable way.
Bayer CropSciences contribution to sustainable agriculture
nImproving eciency andproductivity o arming toensure the sucient supplyo aordable ood
nOptimizing natural resourceutilization on company sitese.g. water and energy
nReducing pre- and post-harvest losses
nTargeted pest management toreduce environmental ootprint
nImproved armland productivityconserve wildlie habitats
nProtecting & enhancing viableecosystems
nProviding consumers withdiverse aordable, high qualityproduce all year round
nImproving amers quality o lieand livelihood, which benetscommunities
nImproving health and hygiene,thus peoples quality o lie andliving standards
Economy Ecology Society
All targets are o equal importance
Sustainability o agriculture requires innovation
Sustainable Agriculture
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Global population growth is expected to reach
9 billion by 2050 and agricultural production
will need to double by then2. To meet the in-
creased demand or ood, eed, energy crops and also
bers, the ecient use o all options and the most ap-
propriate agricultural technologies is critical, within the
context o sustainable land management approaches.
Technological advances in cotton production eciency
between 1996 and 2006 have enabled increased yields
o 15%3 but using less land globally minus 1.8 million
hectares and with ewer inputs4. Advances in cotton
production have been achieved by using improved
varieties (including through sophisticated breeding),
integrated pest and nutrient management, and more
ecient irrigation and mechanization. These technol-
ogy packages and new breakthroughs in breeding will
enable cotton to continue on a path o increasing and
more ecient productivity while addressing all the three
sustainability dimensions that include social accep-tance, environmental health and economic benets.
Bayer CropScience, through its technologies and solu-
tions, makes an important contribution to optimizing
resource-use through eciency gains across the whole
lie-cycle o cotton production, rom the eld to the spin-
ning mill and through to the department store, and this
contributes to sustainable production and consumption
o cotton.
The Three Pillars o Sustainable Development provide
the ramework to understand how the company ap-
proaches cotton production and strives to achieve
a balance between the requirements o armers, ag-
riculture businesses, spinners, consumers and other
stakeholders. As a leader in cotton seeds, traits, crop
protection and harvest aids, Bayer CropScience con-
tributes to the sustainability o cotton production and
manuacturing by oering integrated technology pack-
ages that assure high-quality cotton ber downstream.
Introduction
1.1 Sustainable Development in Cotton
Through high investment in R&D, Bayer
CropScience oers a broad range o cotton
technologies and approaches that respond to
armers needs, including seeds, traits, crop protection
and services. The core research platorms include yield
and quality perormance, as well as plant health. In the
uture, urther improvements will be achieved through
innovative crop protection products, plant breeding and
the use o plant biotechnology. Stress tolerance is one
trait that is currently being developed.
Bayer CropScience boasts several cotton seed brands
(GM and non GM) adapted to geographies that are in-
tegral components o sustainable cotton production
FiberMax, Stoneville,AFD, and Surpass.
In particular, FiberMax cotton seed varieties, available
in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Greece and Turkey,
have created entirely new opportunities or armers who
want to grow high-yielding, high-quality ber.
FiberMax cotton varieties have a longer staple length
and better strength, both o which attract price premi-
ums. In addition to ber quality, Bayer CropScience
also oers the Certifed FiberMax program, the only
process o its kind that enables the certication o ber
rom the eld, all the way to the mill. When a grower
certies a bale o FiberMax cotton, that cotton be-
comes a value-added product desirable to down-
stream manuacturers and stakeholders. The Certifed
FiberMaxprogram gives an added layer o account-
ability as cotton purchasers are guaranteed that their
product is made rom 100 percent FiberMax cotton.
Conceivably, i a customer wanted to know how and
where the cotton ber was produced, the cotton pur-
chaser could track this inormation.
FiberMaxvarieties have had a proound impact on im-
proving ber quality within regions, most notably in Texas,
USA, where it has gained a signicant market share.
Caliornia is characterized by the production o Extra
Long Staple cotton (the term staple reers to ber
length), known as Pima (Gossypium barbadense). Up-
land cottons (Gossypium hirsutum) tend to be classied
as short to medium staple and they are grown in the
other regions o USA, including Texas and the Missis-
sippi Delta.
In ten years, FiberMax was able to achieve a 34.5%
market share in the USA, mainly through its devel-opment in Texas. The improvement in ber length
observed in Texas is directly linked to the development
o FiberMax varieties. These varieties now even chal-
lenge Pima varieties with respect to ber length.
In 2004, R&D in cotton traits provided the LibertyLink
gluosinate-tolerant technology, which gave armers in
the USA the option o using Ignite herbicide (gluosi-
nate), which particularly improved weed control in areas
experiencing weed resistance to glyphosate.
1.2 Bayer CropSciences Cotton Technologies and Solutions
Average Fiber Length in US Growing Regions
1 99 8 1 99 9 2 00 0 2 00 1 2 00 2 2 00 3 2 00 4 2 00 5 2 00 6 2 00 7
CaliorniaTexas Delta
32
seconds
ofan
inch
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
US Planted Cotton Acres
Success story o FiberMax in the US
2United Nations
3http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk/pd/GM_Crop_yield_summary.pd
4The Role o Biotechnology in Improving the Sustainability o Cotton, Cotton Incorporated, Cantrell
Data: USDA reports (1998 - 2009)
FiberMax
1998 2000 2002 2008 200920062004
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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Uncontrolled Admire treated at 200g/ha
Introduction
In 2009, the GlyTol glyphosate-tolerant technol-
ogy achieved regulatory approval and is expected
to be released in the USA in 2010, along with a
stacked5 herbicide-tolerant technology with both Gly-
Tol and LibertyLink traits. Through the introduc-
tion o these two traits into the same cotton variety,
both glyphosate and Ignite herbicide can be used
throughout the season. This combination o traits gives
growers protection o their investment in situations with
resistant weeds. Furthermore, it provides armers with
fexibility in their weed management programs and
with the reedom to tank-mix with other crop inputs,
thus reducing uel costs as less tractor operations
are required. The stacked GlyTol and LibertyLink
traits are scheduled to be launched in major cotton
production areas o the world.
In addition to herbicide-resistant technologies, Bayer
CropScience has a number o new traits in its researchpipeline, including: TwinLink, a dual-gene technology
imparting crop resistance to devastating insect pests,
and stress tolerance technologies that will help over-
come abiotic stresses (the harming eect o non-living
actors such as drought, heat, cold and salinity) and bi-
otic stresses (the harm caused by living organisms such
as viruses, ungi, bacteria and harmul insects).
In addition to yield and quality perormance increases,
urther technology developments include research on
cotton hybridization, fber quality improvement and
nitrogen-use efciency.
Pest management, harvest and boll-opening aids
are well recognized by armers as important tools in
sustainable cotton production. From early seed-ap-
plied insecticides/nematicides, such asAeris, to late
harvest aids, such as Finish, Bayer CropScience pro-
vides armers with innovative tools to manage diseases
and an array o pests such as nematodes, sucking in-
sects, bollworms, armyworms and mites, thus overall
improving the yield and quality o their crop.
Since 2007, Mealy Bug (Phenacoccus & Maco-
nellicoccus spp) had been causing commercial
losses up to 25% o cotton yield in West & North
Provinces in India. Farmers awareness about the pest
was low and the scientic community and extension
services had given ew recommendations. Responding
to the new threat, Bayer CropScience took the lead by
producing a technology package or Mealy Bug con-
trol. It consists o an Integrated Pest Management (IPM)approach including sanitation o the eld, weed control,
scouting o the pest and the management o the pest
throughAdmire (Imidacloprid 70WG).
Besides ensuring crop health, achieving a uniorm cot-
ton crop is o economic importance and can be at-
tained by using a growth regulator such as Stance,
which generates crop uniormity by managing vegeta-
tive growth. It is most eciently used on large elds,
such as the ones in the USA.
5Stacking: the benets o co mbined traits include the more ecent use o crop protection products.
Also, they can be an excellent tool or resistance management.
Cotton producing areas in the world
Control o Mealy Bug
In some countries, armers receive severe quality pen-
alties due to cotton contamination with desiccated
lea material. The green lea drop and a high level
o re-growth is managed through boll openers and
deoliants, (Prep/Finish/Ginstar/Dropp) which
contribute to a quick and simultaneous boll opening and
deoliation. This allows or clean boll picking and hence
ensures that both the quality and quantity o the ber is
maximized, while assuring a cleaner turnout and better
price or the armer at the gin.
Stance also provides cotton ber quality enhancement,
as it channels the crops resources by increasing its vigor
towards the ber. Extensive trial work in the USA has
shown that in more than hal o all comparisons under-
taken with competitive treatments, Stance provides an
economic advantage via premiums in staple length.
To acilitate mechanical harvesting, harvest aids, or ex-
ample to remove leaves, are used on cotton in many
countries such as the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey and
Central Asia. Beside this, Bayer CropSciences harvest
aids can be used as harvest management tools to sched-
ule the harvest timing, which allows or optimal and e-
cient use o water, expensive machinery and labor.
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Cotton armers around the world are clearly critical
players in the cotton supply chain. Optimizing
yield per hectare is essential i a armer is to
compete in the global market. In the last 20 years, the
world average cotton yield has steadily risen rom 555
kg/ha to 776 kg/ha6. Productivity increases per hectare
are the only way to increase output, as armland around
the world is limited. In addition, climate change and
its related eects such as water scarcity and the shit
towards a more bio-based economy, puts an additional
burden on agricultural production. Put simply, armers
will have to produce more and on ewer hectares to
meet the increasing world demand or ber.
The widespread adoption o technologies such as
herbicide tolerance and insect resistance refect
the benets gained by armers through higher
eciency: costs are saved, stable production ensured,
labor reduced and environmental health maintained.
Whether the input is a seed, a trait, a crop protection
or a harvest aid product, water, energy or labor, armers
strive or the best return on investment (ROI) that keeps
their operations in business.
2. EconomicViabilityFinancial prosperity in the long term cannot be achieved at the
expense o the planet or society. However, the economic viability
o cotton armers, spinners and merchants, or consumers and
solution-providers like Bayer CropSience is a shared value that can
be achieved, while advancing social and environmental objectives.
2.1 Pillar 1: Economic Viability or Farmers
6Source: http://www.as.usda.gov/cotton_arc.asp
World cotton lint average yield in kg/ha increase during the last 20 years
Average yield 1987 - 1989 Average yield 2006 - 2008
776
+40%
100
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
0
555
Data: USDA reports (1987 - 2008)
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Economic Viability
One example is the introduction o FiberMax in the US,
Texas cotton armers have increased their annual arm
income substantially because o improved ber quality
and yield. For the years 2004 to 2006, FiberMax vari-
eties increased Texas cotton armers income by 4.84%
(3 year average)8.
Much o the cotton in Arica is grown by
smallholder armers, mostly on less than one
hectare. Poor yields and lint quality result
in low and uncompetitive arm revenue. The reasons
include a lack o an organized cotton-seed-handling
inrastructure, accompanied by cross-border/region
seed-cotton trading that leads to loss o varietal purity.
Poor seed storage at the ginnery level leads to low andbad quality germination rates. Furthermore, the lack o
de-linting acilities leads armers to plant uzzy seeds
whose germination state is not easy to determine.
Finally, the soil and seed-borne diseases such as
Rhizoctonia solani (damping o) and pests such as
Arican bollworms, white fies, leahoppers and aphids,
contribute signicantly to reduced cotton yields.
India cotton yield (kg/ha)
8Improved Cotton Quality Boosts Growers Income, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University, 2007
kg/hectare
Season ending mid-year
Data: Cotton Corporation o India Ltd. 2009
100
700
600
500
400
300
200
0
98 99 2 000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09979695949392918171611951
7PSD Online - USDA
In cotton production, as in any undertaking, the least
expensive business decision does not necessarily
yield the best results. Thereore, armers are willing
to invest in technologies, practices, services and knowl-
edge acquisition that will give them the greatest benet.
A case in point is the rapid adoption in India o Bt
cotton. Since its commercial introduction in 2002, In-
dias total cotton production has nearly doubled rom
2.573 million tonnes (three year average prior to Bt
introduction) to 5.072 million tonnes (three year aver-
age or 2006-2008), making India the second largest
cotton-producing country in the world and a net ex-
porter rather then a net importer o cotton. Average
yield has increased rom around 300 kg/ha in the years
prior to Bt, to 536 kg/ha in 20087, with mainly small-
scale armers beneting rom the technology imple-mentation. While various other actors contributed to
productivity increases, including improvements in ge-
netics and plant breeding, biotech varieties are respon-
sible or the most substantial share o this yield increase.
The strong increase o cotton production in India was
supported by the government with the launch o the
Cotton Technology Mission with the aim o making
Indian cotton production competitive in the world mar-
ket by increasing productivity and improving the quality
and uniormity o its cotton throughout the value-chain.
Within this ramework, Bayer CropScience participates
in a multi-stakeholder partnership led by the Cotton
Corporation o India (CCI). The goal is to promote and
implement sustainable cotton cultivation with contract
armers and linking their production with specied mar-
kets or them to gain maximum value or their eorts.
Since the initiation o the program in about 300 villages
in some districts o the States o Haryana and Andhra
Pradesh, average yields and net incomes among con-
tract armers have signicantly exceeded those o non-
contract armers.
While cotton armers see the benets o investing in
agricultural technologies that contribute to a avorable
return, they are also looking or ways to lower costs or
inputs such as water and energy. At a given yield level,
less irrigation or ewer tractor operations and less labormean higher prots.
In addition to yield increase, armers strive to achieve
high ber quality, both to maximize their price at the
gin and to respond to world market needs that are in
line with state-o-the-art spinning mill requirements.
The ability to produce the right ber quality is hence a
prerequisite to satisy downstream customers and or
the cotton armer to stay in business.
Governments are responding well to this down-
turn by orming Cotton Boards to revive the
cotton industry and by collaborating with
stakeholders to ensure the crop is revitalized. As a
partner in this approach Bayer CropScience has con-
tributed signicantly to the industry revival with an acid
seed de-linting system and a seed treatment technol-
ogy via Monceren GT 390 FS (a ungicidal and in-
secticidal combination product). It has enhanced pro-
ductivity potential by up to 40% so that armers oten
reer to the healthy dressed seed as magic seed. It
has also reduced the seed application rate rom about
40-50 kg to about 10 kg per hectare. Finally, Bayer
CropScience training on pest scouting is helping the
armer judge i, and when, product application is need-
ed, thus avoiding unnecessary applications while pro-
ducing high quality cotton. To urther complement thetechnology package or armers, Bayer CropScience is
also considering introducing new adapted cotton seed
varieties. Overall these contributions are improving
armers livelihoods through economic benets rom
increased productivity and ecient use o resources.
Steve Manonge at armers training in Zimbabwe
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When raw cotton prices increase to levels that challenge
cottons cost eectiveness, textile mills will switch to
lower price bers or decrease their production o cotton
yarns and abrics. Thus, or cotton merchants to remain
in business, they must be able to meet the demands o
spinning mills. Initiatives such as Certifed FiberMax,
which simultaneously help armers and merchants
capture the value potential o FiberMax and help to
ensure cotton consistency and quality, also support
meeting spinning mill quality expectations.
For the past years, we at Bayer CropScience have
reached out to mills worldwide and shared with them
the benets and attributes o FiberMax cotton. We
have sponsored Cotton Quality Summits in key mar-
kets around the world, which brought together expertsrom every aspect o the value chain to discuss the
business o supplying and producing premium quality
cotton. Additionally, we have worked closely with these
downstream customers to learn what they are looking
or in cotton ber so we can best meet their needs.
Economic Viability
Cotton spinners and merchants are vital to the
international cotton trade. They purchase cot-
ton bales rom armers and sell them to spinning
mills, thus meeting market demands around the world.
Economic viability or them relies on a stable supply
o high-quality cotton at reasonable prices.
With this in mind, increased productivity and high ber
quality help meet the needs o cotton spinners and mer-
chants. For the past ve years, the planted cotton area
around the world has decreased while the combined
area planted to corn and soybeans has increased9. As
more hectares are planted to ood, eed and energy
crops, cotton land must produce reliable and higher
yields to assure supply. As new cotton traits, varieties,
and crop inputs help armers increase yields, thesesame elements have a trickle-down eect on cotton
merchants by providing the reliable supply they need.
O course, demands by spinning mills are the other
side o the equation: Spinning mills must source raw
cotton ber to meet the needs o consumers. Spinners
demand the highest quality ber that allows or prot-
ability. Availability o reliable, high quality ber aects
the value o yarns and abrics but also processing
eciencies and ber mill waste. A cotton merchant,
thereore, must meet spinners needs by providing the
best possible quality.
2.2 Pillar 1: Economic Viability or Spinners and Merchants
9U.S. Department o Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service
nProviding technologies to produce premium fber quality
nIncreasing agricultural efciency and productivity
nOptimizing natural resource use such as water and energy
nCreating win-win solutions by partnering within the value-chain
nReducing pre- and post-harvest losses
Bayer CropSciences contribution to economic viability
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All agricultural activities are conversions o nat-
ural ecosystems meant to address the ood
and non-ood crop demands o a rising world
population. Biological diversity, commonly called bio-
diversity, serves important unctions that enhance the
environmental resource base upon which agriculture
and cotton production depend. It is in the best interest
o armers to conserve and enhance the production
base upon which they rely. The ability to produce more
on less land has been made possible by state-o-the-art
technologies and good agricultural practices adopted
by armers. Looking at production and land-use data
rom the USA in 1926 is inormative because that period
is characteristic o production practices still used in
some parts o the world today. The data comparisonbetween 1926 and 2006, however, indicates the po-
tential or improvement in cotton production eciency10
and with that the amount o land that could be saved
or biodiversity conservation.
3. EnvironmentalProtectionThe lie-cycle approach to cotton production and consumption must
also be environmentally healthy. Cotton production must use water
more efciently and maintain the unctional integrity o soil and eco-
systems. Maintaining environmental health requires armers to use
technologies more efciently, while still producing an economically
viable crop. In addition to providing technology packages and knowl-
edge to armers, Bayer CropScience delivers solutions or environ-
mental sustainability via a lie-cycle approach rom R&D through
production, packaging, distribution and use.
10http://www.cottoninc.com/Habitat-and-Biodiversity/Cotton-Production-Eciency/
11A. Dollacker, Pfanzenschutz-Nachrichten Bayer 59/2006, 1 p 123 Conserving biodiversity alongside agricultural protability through integrated
R&D approaches and responsible use o crop protection products
3.1 Biodiversity
Biodiversity conservation not only reers to land
conserved or habitat, it can also be managed
within elds by choosing the right practices.
Targeted use o crop protection products such as via
seed treatment restricts product use to individual seeds.
In cotton,Aeris, a seed-applied insecticide/nematicide
is an example o this technology that benets biodiver-
sity in several ways. The obvious benet oAeris is the
replacement o 2 to 3 oliar applications that would have
been needed to control early season pests. Non-target
and benecial organisms living in or around the cotton
eld remain largely unaected by seed application. Only
pests that harm the crop by sucking, biting or invading
are managed11. Also, reductions in tractor uel, water
use and labor are achieved through this technology.
=Seed treatment is equal to 2 - 3 whole area treatments
Area (M Acres)
Source: USDA NASS Database
50
40
30
20
10
0
1926 2006
Production (M Bales)
Seed treatment Whole area treatment
Improvement o cotton production
efciency in the US
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Today, through improved knowledge o interrela-
tionships in cotton production, more ne-tuned,
integrated crop management approaches that
balance the economic, social and environmental dimen-
sions o sustainability are adopted. Farm practices such
as conservation agriculture (reduced tillage), oten a-
cilitated by herbicide-tolerant seeds, have many positive
eects. Conservation agriculture prevents soil erosion
and water loss, as about 70% o crop residues remain
in the topsoil and 30% on the surace. This increased
organic material provides improved habitat conditions
or birds, small mammals and many soil organisms12 that
benet biodiversity conservation in the eld.
The introduction o biotech crops, in particular insect
resistant cotton varieties, has had a positive impact.
According to a 2005 study major environmental gains
(measured as Environmental Impact Quotient) have
been derived rom the adoption o biotech insect resis-tant cotton because o a signicant reduction o vol-
umes o insecticides applied13.
One o the main sources o biodiversity loss are
Invasive Alien Species (IAS)14. These are spe-
cies whose introduction and/or spread outside
their natural habitats threaten biological diversity in other
ecosystems and which are out-competing native spe-
Environmental Protection
3.2 Water-Use Efciency and Protection
15Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations
16Hoekstra, A. Y. and A. K. Chapagain. 2007.
Water ootprints o nations: Water use by people as a unction o their consumption pattern. Water Resource Management 21:3548.17
Conservation Technology Inormation Center
Building on cottons inherent ability to withstand drought
conditions, Bayer CropScience in its cotton breed-
ing program is developing improved stress-resistant
and drought-tolerant varieties. These eorts include re-
search in stomatal response, which causes a aster and
tighter closing o the stomata during drought situations,
and stomatal density, which lowers stomatal density
with compensatory higher photosynthetic capacity.
Further technology developments in the pipeline include
disease resistance and better nutrient uptake, which will
improve a plants resilience, including to the water st ress
occurring through climate variability.
In addition to plant breeding, crop protection products
play a major role in water resource management. Not
only do healthy plants use water more eciently, butherbicide-tolerant production systems such as Liberty-
Link and GlyTol technologies allow growers to man-
age weeds using conservation agriculture (reduced- or
no-till production systems), which increases the organic
matter o soils and, with that, water retention capacity.
These weed management tools also prevent weed com-
petition or water17.
I current trends continue, water shortages in agricul-
ture are predicted to be the single most signicant
constraint acing crop production over the next 50
years. Around 70% o global resh water withdrawal is
currently used or agriculture15. Improved water man-
agement or agricultural production must, thereore,
be a top priority.
While the eciency and use o irrigation water merits
the highest attention or action in agriculture, water-
collecting technologies in rain-ed agriculture, creating
rainwater reservoirs and improved land management
systems, such as conservation tillage, can help to maxi-
mize the crop per drop.
Physiologically, a cotton plant is a hardy organism pre-
disposed to enduring periods o drought. Though thecotton plant can survive dry conditions, it responds a-
vorably to optimum water inputs. Cottons global water
ootprint is 2.6 percent o the worlds water-use, which
is less than other major commodities, including soy-
beans (4 percent), maize (9 percent), wheat (12 percent)
and rice (21 percent), but sizeable nonetheless16.
Conservation tillage reduces soil erosion and encourages the creation o new soil
12Conservation Technologies and the Plant Science Industry, CropLie International, September 2005 www.croplie.org
13GM Crops: The global economic and environmental impact or the rst nine years 1996-2004, Brookes and Baroot
14World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg Plan o Action, 2002
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POIToc.htm
cies or ood and other resources and oten disturbing
ecosystem balance and agricultural production. Their
spread may increase with climate change and impede
agricultural productivity in many areas. As IAS become
new pests in countries where they were previously not
ound, crop protection products and complementary
management approaches provide solutions or manag-
ing these new crop pests and help reduce the damage.
On top o the eect on biodiversity IAS account or sig-
nicant economic losses. According to one estimate
the global economic burden caused by IAS could be
US$1.4 trillion, which represents 5% o the global GDP.
The annual environmental losses caused by introduced
agricultural pests in the United States, United Kingdom,
Australia, South Arica, India and Brazil have been calcu-
lated at over US$ 100 billion.
One such IAS is the cotton boll weevil. Although it hasalmost been completely eradicated in the USA, it was
detected in Brazil in 1983 and since then has spread to
many regions o that country. Both adults and nymphs,
cause signicant crop losses not only by damaging the
ruit and causing wilt but also by irregular maturation o
ruit. Bayer CropScience provides a series o solutions
as well as knowledge and expertise to help manage
various IAS.
Bayer CropSciences technologies are helping to make agricultural production
more resource efcient a value added in terms o biodoversity
Impact o seed treatment on Climate Protection, Water Management and Labor Savings
Seed treatment saves ossil uel use, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
It also saves water and reduces working hours.
Savings or 0.5 mio ha/year Savings or 100 ha/year
Fossil uel:
2 million liters(this equals a reduction in GHG-emissions
o ~ 2000 cars/year)1
Water:
200 million liters2
(this equals 100 olympic swimming pools)
Time:
86 working years3at 8 hours/day
Fossil uel:
400 liters
Water:
40,000 liters
(this equals the volume o 266 x 150 liters baths)
Time:
6.25 working days at 8 hours/day
1http://www.llh- hessen.de/landw irtschat/bw_ vtec/vtec/ text63.htm about 2 liters uel used per spray2average spray water use per hectar 200 liters (saving two sprays)
3http://www.ktbl.de/betrieb/archiv/bewirtschatung.pd about 15 minutes per spray (with 12m large sprayer)
18 19
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The Bayer group has developed a Climate Pro-
gram, which takes an ambitious stance towards
minimizing its total corporate carbon ootprint.
The Group is to increase energy eciency in produc-
tion by 10 percent through 2013 compared to 2008, cor-
responding to specic reductions in greenhouse gases
o 350,000 metric tons annually. Bayer CropScience
recognizes the potential impact o climate change on
agriculture and, with that, on cotton production. Its tech-
nologies help and will urther support cotton armers in
the uture to adapt to changing weather conditions.
Agriculture impacts upon climate change just as climate
change impacts upon agriculture, including cotton pro-
duction. Climate change is driven not only by an in-crease in average global temperatures but also by a rise
in soil temperature. Other consequences are increased
incidences o extreme weather conditions such as heat,
drought, foods and salinity, which already heavily im-
pact upon agriculture in many regions18. These abiotic
stresses especially aect plants as they are dependent
so much on dened climate conditions.
Adaptation measures in agriculture are essential to ad-
dress vulnerability and prevent decreases in productivity
in many regions around the world. Overall healthy and
more vigorous crops are more resilient and hence more
adaptable to climate change eects. Current climate
change adaptation technology developments at Bayer
CropScience include stress tolerance in cotton and re-
search to identiy genes more tolerant to drought and
moisture adaptability.
Agriculture is responsible or about 14% o total global
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions rom a variety o
sources, and discussions are underway at the policy
level on how to include agriculture in GHG emission
mitigation andsequestration. Irrespective o these dis-cussions armers can contribute to emission reductions,
or instance by reducing ossil uel use, which makes
Environmental Protection
3.4 Integrated Crop Management / Integrated Pest Management
versity by preserving a variety o benecial insects that
aid in managing economically important insect pests.
Insecticides with a high specicity against pests are
now being incorporated into the cotton IPM approach.
Currently Bayer CropScience is in the process o in-
troducing innovative insecticides/miticides in cotton,
which belong to the new chemical classes Ketoenoles
and Diamides. These products (Movento, Oberon,
Belt) not only provide new modes o actions or insect
control, they also protect many benecial insects occur-
ing in cotton (such as earwigs, predatory bugs, larvae
o ladybird beetles, hoverfies and lacewings). Thereore
these products have an excellent t in IPM programs.
Within Research & Development Bayer CropScienceis testing its new products on benecials in laboratory,
greenhouse and eld studies, like or instance in cotton
at its eld testing station in Paulinias (Brazil).
Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is a concept that
balances the three dimensions o sustainability and
sets a ramework o Good Agricultural Practices
(GAP). These comprise a wide portolio o measures
such as soil and nutrient management, seed choice and
pest control. Within ICM, pest control is reerred to as
Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM includes both
indirect measures or weed, insect and disease preven-
tion, such as crop rotation, and direct control measures
through biological, biotechnological, chemical and me-
chanical means.
Bayer CropScience products and services can contrib-
ute substantially to eective ICM and IPM programs.
The combination o breeding and crop protection re-
search provides tools to manage weeds, pests and dis-eases in an integrated way. The IPM approach can be
best demonstrated by the case o seed treatment (as
described above). This approach also promotes biodi-
3.3 Climate Change
18IPCC 4th Assessment Report, Synthesis Report, 2007/7. Sir Nicolas Stern: Review on the Economics o Climate Change.
(2007-01) Annex 7.g http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/stern_review_report.htm
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/annex7g_agriculture.pd
perect business sense as it saves armers costs. As
mentioned above, crop health management practices
such as seed treatment avoid up to three whole area
treatments in eld crops and hence save tractor uel
use. Conservation agriculture (minimum or reduced
tillage) also reduces the number o tractor operations
and avoids GHG emissions. This agricultural practice,
supported through herbicide tolerant crop varieties, also
increases carbon sequestration in the soil. All technolo-
gies mentioned are, and will be, part o an incremen-
tally-growing portolio o response measures to climate
change adaptation and developments will increase as
the demand grows. The development o nitrogen use-
ecient varieties currently in its inancy would be
another tool to mitigate one o the most potent GHG:nitrous oxide (N2O). Using soil nitrogen more eciently
means less nitrogen oxide would be emitted rom soils
through its natural nitrication process.
The challenges arising rom climate change are complex,
not yet ully understood but becoming more apparent
every day. For Bayer CropScience, the challenge is to
anticipate potential uture needs o armers, or which the
company wishes to provide them with the most suitable
technology packages.
Francisco Lozano and team at feld testing station Paulinias (Brazil)
Bayer CropSciences portolio includes tools to enable adaptation to climate
change and mitigating agricultures contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
nConserving biodiversity and habitats through increased productivity per unit area o land
nInvestigating adaptation and mitigation in agriculture in response to climate change
nPromoting Good Agricultural Practices and sustainable land management
nProtecting and enhancing agro-ecosystems health through Integrated Crop Management
Bayer CropSciences contribution to environmental protection
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4. Social EquityThe social pillar o sustainability in the cotton value-chain encom-
passes aspects such as employment and livelihood improvement as
well as health, hygiene, labor conditions, education and the overall
quality o lie. Bayer CropScience, through its technologies and
innovative approaches, provides solutions to contribute to some othese aspects together with involved stakeholders and its partners
throughout the value chain.
19World Development Report 2008, The World Bank
20The Socio-Economic Appraisal o BT Cotton Cultivation in India Indicus Analytics, 2007
Economic Benets o BT Cotton Cultivation in India IMRB International, 200721
National Cotton Council22
Cotton Varieties Planted 2008, U.S. Department o Agriculture
Downstream in the cotton supply chain, jobs are be-
ing created in textile mills and cut-and-sew operations
in some o the most un derdeveloped countries in the
world. Countries such as Bangladesh, In dia and Viet-
nam have burgeoning textile industries that provide
workplaces in modern acilities.
Similarly in developed countries, rural areas can
reach their ull potential when armers prosper.
Farmers are the economic backbone o these
agricultural communities, and other industries and
businesses rely on their success. Cotton production
reinvests in the general business community, and the
impact on construction and development, retail busi-
nesses, service industries, nancial institutions andother consumer businesses is oten signicant:
In 2007, Texas cotton growers produced a crop value
o US$ 2.25 billion, supporting more than 45,000 jobs
in production, ginning, merchandising, warehousing,
cottonseed trading / processing and textile milling 21.
On the Texas High Plains, FiberMax cotton varieties
have changed the economic landscape by enabling
cotton production with higher yields and quality on
well over hal o the cotton area in Texas.22
Saving labor time is important or any armer and the
time saved will be used or other activities. In devel-
oping countries this oten supports diversication
o income rom activities other than agriculture. As
highlighted in the graphic on page 19, seed treatment
practices in eld crops, such as those used in cotton,
are an obvious way o saving labor time.
Agriculture is a major economic activity in many
countries. In the poorest countries, agriculture
accounts or 20% o GDP, and in some sub-
Saharan Arican countries where a lot o cotton is
grown agricultural GDP typically accounts or around
40%19. Indeed, three out o our people in develop-
ing countries lived in rural areas in 2002 (the latest
year or which global rural poverty data are available).
2.1 billion live on less than $2 a day and 880 million on
less than $1 a day most depend on agriculture or their
livelihoods, either directly or indirectly. Employment op-
portunities in rural areas are thereore critical or poverty
alleviation, economic growth and development. Ecient
production o high quality cotton provides armers with
livelihood improvements and can support subsistencearmers to become more commercially viable, provid-
ed market opportunities are given. Bayer CropScience
contributes to armers livelihood improvements by
providing products and services that enable them to
produce their cotton crops more e ciently.
For instance, as previously demonstrated, the intro-
duction o Bt technology in India has increased the
countrys cotton production to make it the second-
largest cotton producing country in the world. Indian
armers benet rom increased yields, resulting rom
this technology, and as a consequence the surrounding
communities also benet. With the adoption o Bt cotton
varieties, armers increased their income. According
to two studies on Bt Cotton Farming in India20, one
consequence has been a higher access to social ser-
vices. Some o the major ndings o the studies in-
clude increased maternal health-care services, higher
levels o immunizations and larger school enrollment
or the children o Bt armers as compared to non-
Bt armers. Also, Bt cotton-growing villages benet-
ed greatly rom an increased access to services such
as telephone systems, electricity, drinking water, bet-ter internet connectivity, banking services, and better
access to markets.
4.1 Employment and Job Creation
22 23
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countries. This is being accomplished, or example,
by developing and introducing new active substances,
application technologies and types o packaging.
In cotton, new active substances with markedly better
risk proles, e.g. spirotetramat and fubendiamide and
their ormulations, are now available to customers in
many countries like India, Pakistan, Brazil and West/
Central Arica replace the old products that have been
withdrawn rom the market.
For Bayer CropScience sae use training o armers is
an integral part o sustainable cotton production in par-
ticular in countries with small scale armers. In India or
example Bayer CropScience participates in a multi-
stakeholder partnership supported by the government
and led by the Cotton Corporation o India (CCI) with the
primary target to increase productivity o cotton produc-
tion. Bayer CropScience was selected to provide knowl-
edge on seed choice and on Integrated Pest Manage-ment (IPM). Specially trained technical experts monitor
cotton elds on a daily basis to ensure that inputs are
properly used. Annually about 10,000 armers are di-
rectly trained through this program and each o them is
motivated to reach out to 10 additional armers, raising
the numbers o reached armers to about 100,000.
way o comparison, the typical yield beore the pro-
grams launch was between 260 and 300 packages.
In addition to the economic benets o the initiative,
experts provide saety training to ensure proper
handling o crop protection products.
In many countries Bayer CropScience, in coop-
eration with various stakeholders, runs capacity-
building programs on Good Agricultural Practices
geared to improve productivity and ensure products are
used responsibly according to label instructions. Regis-
tered and approved crop protection products have been
exhaustively tested beore reaching the market: Use-
rates per crop and application and saety instructions
are included on both product labels and other commu-
nication materials. Additional measures such as adapt-
ed application technologies and packaging innovations
support the targeted use o crop protection products.
One key element o sustainable development in cot-
ton production is innovation in pest management and
portolio evolution. Bayer CropScience only distrib-
utes crop protection products that have been granted
regulatory approval by the authorities in the countries
concerned which are sae when used responsibly and
as intended, and which pose no risk to either peopleor the environment.
The Company is aware that crop protection products
may not always be used correctly under certain cir-
cumstances in some Third World countries. This is
why the company has undertaken to gradually re-
place products in WHO Class I preerentially in these
Furthermorein 2006, Bayer CropScience and its
Indian seed company initiated the Target 400
Program, another training initiative or cotton
growers, designed to help hybrid cotton seed produce rs
increase their yields to 400 packages per acre. By
4.2 Health, Hygiene and Education
Social Equity
4.3 Labor conditions
Child labor is unortunately still deeply rooted in
many societies around the world. Bayer, and
thus Bayer CropScience as well, is strongly
committed to observing the rights o children. This
commitment is based on the Global Compact, a
worldwide initiative o the United Nations, which stip-
ulates the abolition o child labor as one o 10 prin-
ciples in the areas o human rights, labor standards,
environment and anti-corruption. Bayer is a ounding
member o the Global Compact, to which many other
companies also belong. As a clear consequence othis commitment, we do not tolerate child labor.
In India, where the child labor rate is traditionally high,
Bayer CropScience goes a step urther. In the context
o its Child Care Program that ist specially tailored to
the situation in India, the company makes sure that its
subcontractors likewise reject the use o child labor,
and also actively supports local educational opportu-
nities or children thus o ering the children an alter-
native to working in the elds. Find more inormation
at www.childprotection.bayercropscience.com
nImproving armers livelihood as a key driver o rural development
nCreating jobs in agriculture
nAddressing health and hygiene
nEstablishing knowledge and technology transer in emerging agricultural markets
Bayer CropSciences contribution to social equity
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain orward-looking statements
based on current assumptions and orecasts made
by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
actors could lead to material dierences between the
actual uture results, inancial situation, development
or perormance o the company and the estimates
given here. These actors include those discussedin Bayers public reports which are available on the
Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company
assumes no liability whatsoever to update these
orward-looking statements or to conorm them to
uture events or developments.
Responsible or Content:
Dr. Rdiger Schaub
Global Crop Manager Cotton
Phone: +49 2173 38 7342
Fax: +49 2173 38 4952
E-mail: ruediger.schaub@
bayercropscience.com
Bayer CropScience AG
Alred-Nobel-Strae 50
40789 Monheim am Rhein
Germany
www.bayercropscience.com
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Bayer CropSciences contribution to
SUSTAINABLE
COTTON
PRODUCTION
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Bayer CropScience AG
Alfred-Nobel-Strae 50
40789 Monheim am RheinGermany
www.bayercropscience.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements
based on current assumptions and forecasts made
by Bayer Group or subgroup 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 Bayers public reports which are available on theBayer 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.
Responsible for Content:
Dr. Rdiger Schaub
Global Crop Manager Cotton
Phone: +49 2173 38 7342
Fax: +49 2173 38 4952
E-mail: ruediger.schaub@
bayercropscience.com