Thrive for Change winning projects include work to eliminate food waste in Bolivia, put vegetable production tools into the hands of African farmers and use microalgae to eliminate nutrient pollution in the world’s water / Winners are delegates from Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit and YAS University / Awardees will receive a €5,000 bursary to execute their impact projects ein Stipendium in Höhe von 5.000 Euro für die Durchführung ihrer Projekte

MONHEIM, Germany, April 14, 2022 /CSRwire/ - Three young leaders, each with a passion for sustainable global agriculture, have been named winners of Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit Thrive for Change Awards. Bruno Ferreira from Bolivia, Chidinma Ezeh from Nigeria and Emiliano Barbero from Argentina will each receive a €5,000 bursary award to help put their winning Thrive for Change project ideas into action. From September 2021 to March 2022, the awardees developed their project plans to make a difference in the fight against food insecurity and climate change.

The Thrive for Change Awards culminate the 5th biennial Youth Ag Summit (YAS) and its idea incubator, YAS University. Last fall, the global summit virtually connected 100 delegates from 45 different countries of all continents, ages 18-25, to learn from global thought leaders and exchange ideas for solving some of our planet’s most pressing challenges. The delegates were selected from more than 2,000 applicants. The university program then provided each of these young leaders with further training and mentoring on how to prepare their Thrive for Change project ideas for real-world implementation.

“These young people came to our program with the passion needed to make a real difference in tackling food security challenges in their communities as well as around the world,” said Rodrigo Santos, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division. “They leave now with tangible plans to transform agriculture and improve the lives of millions.”

Fellow delegates nominated the winning projects to compete for the final awards. A jury of innovation and agriculture experts then selected the three top winners. Emiliano Barbero’s Thrive for Change project will work to improve one of the most essential elements in life - water.

“BluTech is about taking advantage of useful microalgae to eliminate nutrient pollution in bodies of water that put the lives of people at risk,” said Barbero. “When we do that, we are helping to improve their water quality and at the same time, producing more and better food to feed a hungry planet.”

“The inequalities of farmers – especially in Africa – emanates from a wide knowledge gap in production agriculture,” said Thrive for Change winner Chidinma Ezeh. “My award will go toward expanding my project, FarmCAS, to equip farmers with the needed tools and capacity training in vegetable production.”

“My project, Probá, is a branching project of the Food Bank of Bolivia,” shared Bruno Ferreira. “It is an upcycling production plant with triple impact, by working to solve the problems of food waste, undernourishment, and poor farmer lifestyle in Bolivia. I can’t wait to see it start creating highly nutritious food for those who most need it. “

This year’s awards program featured speakers who share the delegates’ passion to make a difference toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Julie Borlaug, President, Borlaug Foundation and Mina Guli, CEO, Thirst Foundation shared their insights into what actions will help this new generation of changemakers continue to create a more sustainable world.

All twelve finalists will receive a laptop or tablet to further boost their ability to create impact projects that help help build a world with health for all and hunger for none.

For more, please visit www.youthagsummit.com or follow the leaders from the Youth Ag Summit (@youthagsummit) on Instagram or #agvocateswithoutborders and #YAS2021 on any social media platform.

About the Youth Ag Summit
The Youth Ag Summit movement is a community of global young leaders championing sustainable agriculture and food security and working to bridge the understanding gap between those who produce our food and those who consume it. Every two years, 100 delegates are chosen to take part in the Summit. Previous editions have been hosted in Canada, Australia, Belgium and Brazil. Due to COVID restrictions, this year’s summit was the first completely virtual program. Program partners of the 2021/2022 edition are the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the digital platform and network provider Babele.

About the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was set up in 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. SDSN mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical solutions for sustainable development, including the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. For more information, visit www.unsdsn.org.

About Babele
Babele is a technology and consulting company that works in the fields of collective intelligence, business modeling and social impact. They have pioneered application of open strategies and collaborative business planning, providing its programs and online platforms to universities, incubators, networks and corporations spread across four continents. For more information, visit www.babele.co

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer 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 www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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