Supporting sustainable agriculture
BayWa is an international trading company operating in the fields of energy, agriculture and building materials. In this thematic report, which is the fourth in a sequence of short notes and interviews about BayWa, we examine how the company’s agriculture segment is evolving in response to the need to feed a growing global population while adopting more sustainable farming practices. The review includes both initiatives that help farmers produce crops more sustainably and initiatives that help farmers mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.
Helping farmers reduce climate change
While the power generation and transportation sectors are most heavily criticised for their contribution to climate change, the agriculture sector accounts for at least 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This means there needs to be radical changes in agricultural practices if the world is to meet the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 that was agreed at the COP 21 summit in Paris in 2015. Since BayWa generates the highest revenues of any agricultural company in Germany and has extensive international produce trading and logistics businesses, it is able to play a significant role in supporting the shift to more sustainable farming. Promotion of precision farming techniques is a key element of this shift, as the methodology enables farmers to produce the same volume of crops while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate pollution and cutting the amount of crop protection products required.
Helping farmers mitigate effects of climate change
The agriculture sector is particularly exposed to the adverse effects of climate change because extremes of weather such as droughts, heatwaves and hailstorms wreak havoc on growing orchard and field crops. BayWa provides products and services that help farmers mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. These include new cultivars that are resistant to extreme weather conditions, agri-voltaic systems that simultaneously protect growing produce while generating green electricity and smart irrigation systems.
BayWa is a client of Edison Invesment Research limited
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