Bayer CropScience Releases Podcast On Food Scarcity And Population Growth As World Population Approaches Seven Billion People

Head Of Sustainability Nick Hamon Explains The Need To Double World's Agricultural Output. End Quote

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (1888PressRelease) October 28, 2011 - Bayer CropScience (http://www.bayercropscience.com), one of the world's top innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits, has announced the release of a podcast about the world's seventh "billion-person" milestone and the impact that this population growth will have on our food supply. In the podcast, Nick Hamon, head of sustainability for Bayer CropScience North America, explains the impact that the world population reaching an expected seven billion people on Monday, Oct. 31 will have on our food supply. He discusses the speed at which our population is growing and where the highest population growth is expected, the growing issue of food scarcity, and what needs to be done in order to meet the increased demand for food. Hamon also shares what types of agricultural projects are currently being explored and what additional investment and research will be needed in order to meet the demand. The podcast is available for download at: http://bit.ly/uakWIy.

QUOTES:
"We will have to double our agricultural output by 2050 and become significantly more productive on an acre of farm land if we are to sustain this growing population," said Hamon. "We must increase our investment in research, improve crop varieties that offer high yields but require fewer resources, and focus on challenges such as plant drought and heat tolerance, because climate change will be a complicating factor in how we manage agriculture moving forward."

DETAILS:
- In order to help the world meet the increased demand for food, Bayer CropScience is working on projects in areas such as plant health and stress tolerance.

- The United Nations estimates that baby No. 8 billion will be born around 2025, baby No. 9 billion will be born before 2050 and baby No. 10 billion will be born before 2100. Most of the world's population growth will take place in high-fertility countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. The population in intermediate-fertility countries, such as the United States, Mexico and India, will grow by approximately 26 percent, and low-fertility regions such as Europe will shrink by 20 percent.

ABOUT BAYER CROPSCIENCE:
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6.5 billion (2009), 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 an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 18,700 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: http://www.press.bayercropscience.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at http://www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Jennifer Fair
MMI Public Relations
(919) 233-6600
jennifer ( @ ) mmipublicrelations dot com
http://twitter.com/MMIPR
http://www.mmipublicrelations.com

Beth Roden
Bayer CropScience
(919) 549-2030
Beth.roden ( @ ) bayercropscience dot com
USA-BCS-2011-0677

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