Bayer is the first partner in an international soil protection initiative

Bayer is the first partner in the "Living Soils of the Americas" initiative, launched by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Professor Rattan Lal, director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (CMASC). The project aims to tackle soil degradation - a phenomenon that is threatening countries' ability to meet food production demands in a sustainable way.

The announcement was made by Natasha Santos, global leader of stakeholder strategy at Bayer, and reinforces that the agreement with IICA aims, mainly, to promote agricultural development, rural well-being and support agroindustry in Latin America and the Caribbean. Among the priorities, the partnership includes the exchange of agronomic and scientific knowledge, advanced management strategies, technical cooperation and expansion of training programs to contribute to crop safety.

"Bayer is working to deliver innovations and new business models that will help farmers restore soil health and reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. We are pleased to be the first private sector entity to join this 'Living Soils' initiative of the Americas' and we look forward to working with IICA and Professor Lal to find solutions that meet the demand for food in a sustainable way", says Natasha Santos.

The initiative is a broad public and private sector collaborative effort in which technical cooperation will work with governments, international organizations and universities to contribute to reducing land and agricultural degradation, which is depleting organic matter in soils - a resource natural resource essential for human development and to maintain the health of cultivated lands in the Americas.

Manuel Otero, general director of IICA, highlights the importance of reversing this scenario, as it is "an urgent challenge for agriculture", indicating that living soil is vital for crop productivity, producers' income, biodiversity and the well-being of rural and urban communities.

"The soil rewards those who treat it appropriately with increasing levels of productivity, as well as ecosystem services. In short, it contributes to families who live there", concludes Otero, while highlighting the strategic nature of public- toilet.