2015 Conference: Richard Dickmann

SPEAKERS

Mr Richard Dickmann
Head of New Business Development, Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd

Richard Dickmann is the Head of New Business Development at the Bayer Head Office in Melbourne.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers a range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries.

Growing Yields, Capacity and Commercial Links in the Developing World

With operations in more than 120 countries, and 1b$ plus annual R&D spend, Bayer CropScience offers a wide variety of innovative chemical and biological crop protection products, and advanced seeds and traits.

Asia is a strategic growth area and Bayer has taken a significant role in many public-private partnerships, including being a founding member of Grow Asia in Indonesia, with CIMMYT in India, NATESC/MOA in China and a broad coalition of groups in Vietnam.

Bayer supports sustainable intensification of agriculture via developing and promoting integrated crop production packages. Bayer’s “Much More” programs deliver substantial benefits for growers and the community. Significant increases in rice yields and income have been demonstrated across Asia and the program has now been extended to coffee, citrus, integrated shrimp production and other crops.

Bayer’s “Food Chain Partnerships” link small holder farmers to the global food industry. In India, programs allow hundreds of farmers to export gherkins and chillies to global markets. In China, apple farmer cooperatives now supply major city wholesalers directly. More than 240 partnerships in 30 countries have boosted grower returns and supported the development of a modern, food supply system.

Finally, the future of agriculture is in the hands of the young. Bayer has a commitment to agricultural education via its Youth Ag Education program. From August 24 to 28 2015, 100 young people from 33 countries will gather in Canberra near here to discuss global food security. This program is being developed in cooperation with a broad group of like-minded companies and government bodies.

Through broadly-based commercial and government partnerships, Bayer is supporting developing world agriculture to deliver sustainable outcomes and better lives.