Lam Dong, October 26, 2023 – Bayer, a global leading company with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and agriculture, proudly announces the launch of its first bio-fungicide product, Serenade SC, in Vietnam. This groundbreaking solution is set to revolutionize crop protection, helping local farmers enhance crop yield and quality while offering a residue-free crop, meeting strict requirements for export to global markets.

By harnessing the power of advanced biotechnology, SERENADE^® SC offers a range of features that provide significant benefits for consumers, crops, and the environment:

• Safety for human and environment: SERENADE^®, an advanced biotechnological solution by Bayer, is completely safe for humans and the environment. sets a new standard with its short quarantine period and ability to deliver a residue-free output, enabling farmers to access global markets with confidence and consistency. It has been certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) in the US and Europe's organic certification organization, ECOCERT, ensuring its compliance with stringent organic standards.
• Broad Spectrum: Produced through a specialized fermentation process and based on the unique patented Bacillus Subtilis strain QST 713, this bio-fungicide solution exhibits remarkable stability, ensuring its preservation and shelf life comparable to other crop protection products currently available on the market. It effectively protects various crops from a wide range of diseases, such as leaf spot on tomatoes, downy mildew on onions, cankers on grapefruits, and leaf spots on bananas, etc.
• Flexible Use: SERENADE^® SC is highly versatile and can be easily combined with most fungicides, insecticides, fertilizers, allowing farmers to optimize their spraying efforts and increase profitability. Additionally, farmers can alternate the use of SERENADE® SC with different chemical pesticides, reducing the frequency of chemical applications throughout the crop's developmental stages. This practice encourages sustainable farming and the adoption of environmentally friendly crop protection solutions.
• Optimized Productivity: Rigorous testing has demonstrated that SERENADE^® SC significantly improves crop vitality, leading to a remarkable difference in both yield and crop quality with estimated yield increases range from 5% to 10% compared to conventional farming practices, accompanied by a higher percentage of premium-grade output.

"We are truly excited about the launch of our SERENADE® SC in Vietnam. This solution supports farmers in addressing challenges related to fungal and bacterial diseases, helping to improve crop yield and quality without causing negative impacts on the environment. By providing effective and  innovative crop protection, we can achieve a harmonious balance between agricultural productivity and environmental preservation, enabling a future of Health for All, Hunger for None .” said Ha Chu, Head of Crop Science Division, Bayer Vietnam. “Deep and enduring transformations are imperative for our global food and agriculture systems. This can only be achieved with more innovation and stronger collaboration among key stakeholders, including the farmers themselves. Because only together can we drive the wider transformation that is needed to create a sustainable future in agriculture — for the benefit of people, nature, and planet.”

During the official product launch ceremony held in Lam Dong, Bayer Vietnam takes a momentous step towards fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing in the agricultural community. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed between Bayer Vietnam and PepsiCo Food, aiming to establish a strategic partnership in promoting and implementing sustainable farming solutions for local farmers. Specifically, both parties will collaborate on programs to update and disseminate progressive agricultural practices to Vietnamese farmers, ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality raw materials for PepsiCo Food's production chain.

Mr Nguyen Kim Hanh, Agro Lead - PepsiCo Vietnam, shared: “Finding effective solutions to manage late blight and many other diseases to ensure a sustainable supply of domestic potato is one of our top priorities. This cooperation with Bayer is a concrete action by PepsiCo towards green and high-tech agriculture, with the aim of developing and maintaining sustainable sources of raw material in Vietnam, following the global Pep + (Pepsico Positive) program. This is also a part of our comprehensive strategic transformation journey that puts sustainable development and human resources at the center of manufacturing and business operations processes.”

With the launch of the Serenade SC solution, Bayer Vietnam once again affirms its support and commitment to the agenda of sustainable agriculture development set forth by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, particularly in promoting the development and usage of bio crop protection products as a vital component of sustainable farming practices, as well as strengthening collaboration within the agricultural value chain to bring about positive and comprehensive transformations for this sector. By introducing this innovative bio-solution and establishing the partnership with PepsiCo Food to promote good farming practices, Bayer aims to foster a thriving farming community and contribute to the overall growth and prosperity of the agricultural sector.

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.