Following last year’s successful launch of the Spanish BayG.A.P. online training aimed at supporting farmers in Latin America, Bayer is now also offering an English version. The seven-week course was developed in cooperation with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and provides farmers, auditors and agronomists with guidance in Good Agricultural Practices. It helps farmers increase productivity and profitability, while reducing their environmental footprint, and comply with international certification standards, such as GLOBALG.A.P.

 

The BayG.A.P online course comprises eleven modules including Integrated Pest Management (IPM), safe use of crop protection, application technology and food safety. Due to the fundamental importance of pollinators for agriculture, the online training also includes a module on bee health. 
 

BayG.A.P. benefits farmers and consumers
As part of the Food Chain Partnership business model, the BayG.A.P. online training is an advocate for change. The program supports farmers in meeting the growing demand for safe food. “More and more produce buyers require third-party certification,” says Jose Fabio Morera, Stewardship Manager for Central America and the Caribbean at Bayer and virtual tutor for the BayG.A.P. online training. “Our long-term training objective is to help farmers and traders attain international food safety standards such as GLOBALG.A.P.” 

 

The online training also addresses key challenges in the agricultural industry. “We have a major responsibility to provide an increasing amount of food for an ever-increasing population, ensuring that this food is also increasingly safe,” says Dr. Franklin Marín, Coordinator of the IICA Center for the Promotion of Technical Skills and Leadership. “At IICA we promote initiatives in pursuit of sustainable agricultural development and, through partnership with Bayer, we provide excellent training opportunities for farmers with these needs.”