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IFC, Austria, and Bayer Partner to Increase Ukraine Farm Productivity
Kiev, Ukraine, July 3, 2013
– IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Bayer announced today an innovative partnership to modernize agriculture in Ukraine, enhancing the country’s farming potential and boosting global food security.
The new IFC advisory project is supported with funds from the Austrian Ministry of Finance. Bayer will provide farmers broader access to agricultural knowledge, technologies, and agricultural inputs such as improved seeds and innovative crop protection solutions. As a key private sector partner of the project, the company aims to increase productivity at targeted farms, creating an example for the entire sector.
“The main goal is to achieve a more sustainable way of growing crops at the quantities we need to help advance food security,” Liam Condon, Bayer CropScience CEO, said at the project launch event in Kiev. “We are supporting farmers in Ukraine and worldwide by providing them with tools, technology and training, helping to raise both agricultural productivity and environmental compatibility. This new partnership is another example of how Bayer CropScience leverages the potential of collaboration in modern agriculture.”
Jesper Kjaer, IFC’s Head of Advisory Services in Europe and Central Asia, said, “Small and medium-sized farmers represent around 60 percent of the agricultural land in Ukraine. Our new initiative aims to help them become more competitive and efficient so they can increase production in a sustainable manner. Our work in Ukraine is part of our regional effort to develop agribusiness, which is one of the most important sectors for generating employment in the region.”
The six-year advisory project, called Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Farms in Ukraine, aims to upgrade and modernize the country’s agricultural production by making the most innovative technologies and high-tech solutions available. These solutions will include sustainable farm management practices, remote crop-sensing technologies, and precision farming practices.
The new advisory partnership with Bayer follows an earlier engagement during which IFC, Bayer, and two leading Ukrainian banks partnered to develop a risk-sharing facility to expand access to finance for Ukrainian farmers and make high-quality crop protection products more affordable.
IFC is committed to helping Ukraine maximize its agribusiness potential and has so far invested over $600 million in the country’s farming sector. In agribusiness, IFC supports the entire value chain, from farm production to collection, processing and distribution. It also offers an extensive advisory program, including projects focused on improving food safety standards, maximizing resource efficiency and developing the agri-finance and agro-insurance market in Ukraine.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Bayer:
Bayer in Ukraine is a part of the global concern Bayer AG which consists of three sub-groups: Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience, Bayer MaterialScience. Bayer CropScience - one of the world's leading innovative companies in the field of crop protection, seeds and biotechnology. In Ukraine Bayer company has been working since 1992. For more information, visit
www.bayer.ua
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