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Saskatchewan and Bayer partner on ag-tech innovations

At COP28, Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe and Bayer Crop Science announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the province and the global life science company partner on exploring sustainable agriculture technologies. The goal is to help lower greenhouse gas emissions in farming and will include work in digital, smart and precision farming.

“This announcement is very exciting for our ag-tech sectors and will help build and protect our farming communities,” says Moe. “We’re very pleased that Bayer is interested in exploring Saskatchewan’s innovation capabilities. Together, we can help create new solutions for global food security and sustainability.”

Bayer is an enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition and one of the largest agricultural companies in the world. This partnership will focus on mutual goals of agriculture sustainability measures, research and innovation for the global food supply chain.

“Climate change, increasingly stressed ecosystems and a growing world population call for a transformation of agriculture to become regenerative. We need to produce more with less while restoring more,” says Frank Terhorst, head of strategy and sustainability of Bayer’s Crop Science division. “Innovation and technology are key to achieving this and we are delighted to partner with Saskatchewan to shape an agricultural future that will benefit growers and the environment.”

As the global population grows, so does the global demand for food. Together, Bayer and Saskatchewan hope to explore innovations that increase Canada’s agricultural productivity while decreasing environmental impacts. They also hope to create new opportunities for economic growth. The MOU begins immediately and will last five years. While Bayer has signed similar agreements with various partners in Europe, this marks their first major signing for these technologies in Canada.

COP28 is an international climate summit held annually in rotating host countries. The conference brings together leaders and stakeholders from around the world to collaborate on issues related to climate change. Currently, 198 countries, plus the E.U., participate in the convention.