The partnership will focus on implementing best-in-class agricultural practices, capacity building programs as well as undertaking comprehensive vegetable seed trials
Silal, and Bayer, a global leader in life sciences, have partnered to strengthen the agricultural landscape in the UAE. The partnership will focus on implementing best-in-class agricultural practices, capacity building programs as well as undertaking comprehensive vegetable seed trials . This collaboration is firmly aligned with Bayer’s mission of “Health for All, Hunger for None,” and Silal’s commitment to strengthening the UAE’s agricultural innovation landscape
This collaboration between Silal and Bayer represents a formidable alliance dedicated to forging new frontiers in agriculture, sustainability, and innovation. As the partnership gains momentum, it is aimed to help inform and shape the future of agriculture in the United Arab Emirates and other regions facing climate challenges in a meaningful way in support to create a safe and sustainable ecosystem for generations to come. The partnership was announced during a signage ceremony of a Collaboration Agreement during the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in Dubai in attendance of key private and public sector stakeholders.
This strategic partnership represents a significant milestone in the journey towards advancing best-in-class agricultural practices, especially under the challenging climatic conditions of the UAE, which are only expected to intensify due to the ongoing threat of climate change. Recognizing the vital role of agriculture in mitigating climate change and enhancing resilience, Silal and Bayer are steadfast in their commitment to bolster the agricultural sector in the battle against global warming.
Together, Silal and Bayer will partner to enhance the capabilities of local agronomists, fostering an environment conducive to agricultural innovation and excellence, leveraging Bayer’s BayG.A.P. capacity building program. The program encompasses modules on essential topics such as Integrated Pest Management, Safe Use, Crop Protection Products, Application Technology, and Irrigation. The implementation of the program foresees a train-the-trainer approach. In the first step, agricultural engineers and farm managers will be trained. In the second stage, these trainers will then extend the capacity building efforts to potentially reach over 300 growers in the UAE, who are part of Silal’s network.
Another pivotal aspect of this partnership will be the undertaking of comprehensive vegetable seed trials. These trials will encompass a wide array of tomato, cucumber and melon seed varieties, each meticulously tested in diverse open field and mid-tech greenhouse setups. Further, these trials will embody a range of over 30 vegetable seeds varieties and aim to investigate how these varieties perform under challenging desert farming conditions, assessing their increased crop endurance, quality, and shelf-life characteristics. The research and data collected from these trials will not only benefit agricultural practices in the UAE but will also play a crucial role in informing agricultural practices in regions worldwide grappling with the challenges posed by climate change, especially rising temperatures in combination with high levels of humidity, also known as wet-bulb temperatures.
