Elevating the Diverse Voices of Global Agriculture
The community, nation, world needs farmers to survive.
That’s the bottom line. Their work and the harvests they produce are foundational to the global economy. Without farmers, there would be no food. So as society, shouldn’t we be listening to what they have to say?
At Bayer, we believe that’s central to our purpose. When we take time to listen and understand the diverse range of farmer needs and perspectives, we can harness our resources to best effect and deliver innovation to meet those needs.
So every day, we set out to listen and learn from farmers around the globe.
Initiated in 2023, the Farmer Voice survey captures the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of more than 2000 farmers across 8 countries and 6 continents. What we’re hearing from those farmers is always informative, sometimes surprising and oftentimes truly inspiring.
Key Takeaways from The Farmer Voice
This year, the Farmer Voice asked farmers to share their thoughts on a range of topics, including their top business challenges and opportunities, innovation and digital technologies, regenerative agriculture and their outlook on farming as both a contributor to society and a career.
Here’s what we learned:
It’s universally agreed that farming is critical for global food security. But farmers today are feeling pressure on nearly every front. Price, income and weather volatility are top concerns, but political and regulatory frameworks and the cost and availability of labor are not far behind.
- 95% of farmers say they are critical to ensuring global food security, and 94% consider their work to be important to society
- 75% say climate change already has a large impact and are worried about the impact, and 61% say that in the past 2-3 years they have experienced significant revenue losses due to weather events out of the norm
- The proportion of farmers who cite political or regulatory decisions as a top-3 near term challenge more than doubled this year – from 14% in 2023 to 29% in 2024
Farmers generally see the value of digital technologies as a way to improve their farms and tackle agronomic or operational challenges. But there are some barriers that need to be addressed to enable broader adoption.
- Among users, the top three drivers of digital adoption are improved yields (88% cited), input cost savings (85% cited) and improved quality (84% cited)
- Nearly half of farmers are using digital technologies for forecasting and optimizing farm decisions
- When asked about barriers to using digital tech, 62% cited investment requirements, 56% cited skill gaps and 47% cited availability
- 62% of farmers are interested in learning more about AI applications in ag, but only 6% know much about it today
The old adage that farmers were the original environmentalists holds true. Today’s farmers know that the health of their fields is critical to the health of their business and the size and quality of their harvests. And they understand and believe in the principles of regenerative agriculture, although what it means to farm regeneratively varies widely.
- Global farmers are using on average nearly 7 different regenerative practices on their farms
- Crop rotation, maintaining soil fertility, soil health monitoring and reduced tillage are the most commonly used practices
- Soil health, increased yields and productivity, and improved livelihood are the most important regen ag outcomes for farmers
Farmers are practical people, consistently seeking out solutions to help them better feed, clothe and fuel the world. They feel strongly that their work is important to society and are hungry for new technologies and tools to help them adapt to challenges like climate change. As they look to the future, though, they also seek support from policymakers, regulators, society – and the next generation.
- Policy and regulatory framework changes are most frequently cited as the most important factor to benefit farms, with access to better crop protection technology and seeds and traits designed for climate resilience rounding out the top three
- 89% of farmers say people need to listen to their voice more
- 90% consider farming to be a valuable career, and 65% would encourage upcoming generations to pursue farming as a career
In parallel with the global Farmer Voice research, a separate survey was fielded with 1,450 smallholder farmers in India and Indonesia, providing a valuable glimpse into the hearts and minds of this unique segment of farmers who are so critical to securing the world's food supply.
The data reveal that farmers in both countries are grappling with increasing input costs, while also facing the growing challenges posed by climate change. A significant majority of smallholders surveyed feel the impact of climate change already - over 80% cite effects on their operations today.
These challenges are balanced by awareness and adoption of some regenerative farming practices and willingness to use digital tools.
The Farmer Voice survey, commissioned by Bayer, gathered insights from over 2,000 farmers across Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States. Participants were randomly selected from each market, with the objective to obtain a representative sample covering accurately the diversity of crop farmer profiles. The survey was independently conducted by Kynetec, a global leader in data, analytics and insights in agriculture, animal health and nutrition. Importantly, in line with market research best practices, respondents were unaware that the survey was being conducted on Bayer’s behalf so as to not bias their answers. The interviews were conducted between June and July 2024. The final report was produced in collaboration with Kekst CNC, a global strategic communications firm.