Bayer partners with Agribazaar to provide solutions to smallholder farmers

German drug and agrochemicals major Bayer on Thursday said it has partnered with agritech firm Agribazaar for its 'Better Life Farming' projects in India.

The company in 2018 had formed the 'Better Life Farming' alliance that brought together global and local partners across the agri value chain to help smallholder farmers unlock their farming potential.

In India, the alliance is led by Bayer, International Finance Corporation (IFC, a member of the World Bank Group), Netafim, Yara Fertilisers, DeHaat and Big Basket.

Bayer said it has also roped in Agribazaar for 'Better Life Farming' projects in India.

"With Agribazaar, we aim to enhance our reach to smallholder farmers and offer personalized solutions, enabling them to achieve better harvests more sustainably, Bayer's Crop Science division in India CEO Simon Wiebusch said.

Agribazaar will provide market linkages to smallholder farmers through its e-marketplace and help farmers get better prices for their produce, Bayer said.

The German company will also work independently with Agribazaar to improve access of crop advisory and enable transfer of agri technologies to smallholder farmers, it added.

"This partnership will help both buyers and sellers transact in a transparent and trusted ecosystem and provide integrated, cost-effective and timely solutions. Agribazaar CEO and Co-founder Amith Agarwal said.

Bayer is also working with a network of smallholder farmers who practice agri-entrepreneurship under its 'Better Life Farming' projects for rice, corn and horticulture crops.

With its growing network of agri-entrepreneurs, Bayer aims to serve 2.5 million smallholder farmers across India by 2025.