Sigi, Central Sulawesi, 24 January 2020 - Bayer, a global company with the competencies in the fields of health and agriculture, is helping to restore the livelihoods of Sigi farmers after they were hit by the earthquake. Bayer’s donations, installation of wells and water pump machines, as well as agronomic technical assistance succeeded in bringing Sigi farmers to celebrate their first corn harvest, which reached 7.9 tons per hectare with grade A,² higher than the national average productivity. Attending the harvest celebration with the farmers were Moh. Irwan – Sigi Regent, Mohan Babu – Director of Bayer Indonesia, and Ade Soekadis – Executive Director of Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation.

The earthquake that hit Palu, Central Sulawesi on September 2018 claimed the lives of 4,402 people and had a major impact on the local community, especially in the health and economic sectors. Twenty-five percent of Central Sulawesi’s economy is supported by agriculture.³ In Sigi Regency specifically, the earthquake impaired the Gumbasa irrigation area, which caused farmers no longer able to plant rice.

Bayer’s support for agriculture in Sigi was the final phase of a support with a total value of IDR 2.3 billion, a combination of corporate funds and the solidarity of Bayer employees in ASEAN, Mexico, and Basel (Switzerland). In the first phase, Bayer provided rapid response assistance in the form of clean water supply and sanitation facilities. Director of Bayer Indonesia, Mohan Babu said, “Bayer truly understands the importance of improving the quality of life of people affected by a disaster. Therefore, Bayer focuses on addressing issues in health and agriculture, which are in our area of expertise. In the initial phase, Bayer’s support of clean water and sanitation equipment reached 30% of the total refugees (32,000 people out of 93,187 people). In the final phase, the installation of water pump machine and well facilities from Bayer has succeeded in irrigating 300 hectares of agricultural land, while agronomic technical assistance has brought the yields of Sigi farmers to 7.9 tons per hectare, above the national average productivity.”

In distributing the donation, Bayer partners with Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation. Executive Director of Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation, Ade Soekadis said, “Our job is to make sure that Bayer’s donation reaches its intended target, so that the people of Sigi, especially the farmers, can recover quickly from the critical situation after the disaster and improve their quality of life. This is a joint mission of Bayer and Mercy Corps.”

Sigi Regent, Moh. Irwan responded positively to Bayer’s initiative, "After the disaster, the recovery of agriculture and the availability of water became the most urgent needs of the people of Sigi Regency, especially the farmers. Therefore, me personally, and on behalf of Sigi Government, express our appreciation and gratitude to Bayer and Mercy Corps Indonesia, who have worked together to help the community and the government of Sigi Regency through the assistance of agricultural machinery, irrigation facilities and agricultural technical assistance, and the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities, which are certainly very helpful in post-disaster recovery, especially in agriculture."

Krispian, one of the beneficiary farmers said, “Due to the earthquake, we were no longer able to plant rice on our land. The support of wells and water pump machine for irrigation and the assistance of agronomists from Bayer has been highly useful for me and my friends so that we can apply the good agricultural practices for corn and horticulture, even make a much better income.”

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<sub>1. The moisture content in shelled corn harvested is 12 percent (grade A category, the highest quality for industrial needs); much lower than the previous yields which reached 18-22 percent
2. https://sulteng.bps.go.id/pressrelease/2019/11/05/860/ekonomi-provinsi-sulawesi-tengah-triwulan-iii-2019-tumbuh-6-07-persen-dibandingkan-triwulan-iii-2018--.html
3. https://sulteng.bps.go.id/pressrelease/2019/11/05/860/ekonomi-provinsi-sulawesi-tengah-triwulan-iii-2019-tumbuh-6-07-persen-dibandingkan-triwulan-iii-2018--.html</sub>

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 benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros.

For more information, go to: www.bayer.com or www.bayer.co.id.

Contact for Media:

Laksmi Prasvita

Head of Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability

PT Bayer Indonesia

Tel. +62 21 3049 1111

Email: laksmi.prasvita@bayer.com

About Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation

Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation is a local organization with its headquarters in Jakarta. Its purpose is to empower Indonesian society to build healthy, productive and resilience communities. Mercy Corps Indonesia Foundation helps communities to recover from critical situations that they face and turn them into opportunities to improve the quality of life. Based on local needs, our programs help communities in Indonesia using the tools and support that they need.

For more information, go to: indonesia.mercycorps.org.

Contact for Media:

Andi Atissa Puti Chaniago

Knowledge Management and Reporting – Disaster Recovery Program

Yayasan Mercy Corps Indonesia

Email: achaniago@id.mercycorps.org