Monheim/Canberra, August 24, 2015 - By 2050, more than 9 billion people will live on our planet. This fact results in a dilemma: less available agricultural land to produce food for this growing world population. Ultimately, this scenario leads to the overarching question on how to feed this hungry planet. That's why, from 24-27 August in Canberra, Australia, Bayer and the Australian youth organization Future Farmers Network bring together 100 young thought leaders, aged 18-25, from 33 countries for the Youth-Ag Summit to exchange on the role science and modern agriculture play in feeding a hungry planet.

During the Summit, young leaders connect with each other, listen to inspirational speakers, exchange ideas in breakout sessions and experience agriculture during field trips. They make a pledge to develop local solutions for local conditions and act as agricultural ambassadors in their home countries.

Taking into account this pressing issue of the growing world population, interactive sessions during the Summit will focus on sustainability, leadership and innovation, largely shaped by the essay topics the delegates handed in during the application phase.

"We are very pleased to co-host this once-in-a-lifetime event", says Georgie Aley, Chair of Future Farmers Network. "I believe that young people have so much potential to contribute to solutions on global and local food challenges. We look forward to an open dialogue and to hearing their ideas and perspectives."

"This is the second Youth Ag-Summit and we are delighted to continue our movement in Canberra today. Australia is a key country in terms of modern agriculture and an ideal host for this event", says Bernd Naaf, Member of the Board of Management, Bayer CropScience. "We are very proud to have such bright minds and great organisations on board to commonly build a sustainable global network of future leaders and strong partners in agriculture."

Justin Whittle, a delegate from Australia says "I was thrilled to hear that I will be one of the lucky youth to attend the Summit. Food Security is my passion and I cannot wait to meet all the other international delegates." Amanda Kharisma, a delegate from Indonesia adds: "For me, this is such a valuable experience. I hope to bring home lots of ideas to contribute to the advancement of my country."

The Summit provides a platform for young leaders to discuss challenges and develop solutions - small and large scale. This is reflected in the outcomes of the event. Personal commitments are expressed in the development of the "3 little things". These are individual challenges on food and agricultural issues which delegates want to address back home in their local communities. The other main outcome is the "Canberra Youth Ag Declaration", a global call for action to help solve the pressing issues in modern agriculture. The Declaration will be presented at the UN's Committee on Food Security in Rome from 12-15 October where Bayer, as a member of the private sector mechanism, is hosting a side event.

To download the press kit and learn more about the delegates, please visit: www.youthagsummit.com
To follow the Youth Ag-Summit social media live stream: http://www.dialogue.cropscience.bayer.com/en/Youth-Ag-Summit-2015.aspx

Join the dialogue on the Youth Ag-Summit social media channels:
YouTube: www.YouTube.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/YouthAgSummit
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/YouthAgSummit
Instagram: https://instagram.com/youthagsummit/

About the Youth Ag-Summit
The Youth Ag-Summit is a global youth conference to inspire and connect the next generation of young leaders in agriculture and related disciplines. At the Summit, 100 young leaders aged 18 to 25 from all around the world will meet to share perspectives and create an open dialogue on one of the world's most challenging questions: how to feed a hungry planet? The Youth Ag-Summit forms part of the Agricultural Education Program and aims at raising awareness for food and farming all over the globe. Find more information about the summit on the website www.youthagsummit.com

About Future Farmers Network
Future Farmers Network (FFN) is Australia's only national youth agricultural network that connects and supports young Australians involved in rural industries. Operating since 2002, FFN connects youth involved in all facets of agriculture and provides members with access to the latest news, events, scholarships, awards and information from across all aspects of the Australian agricultural sector. To learn more about FFN visit: http://www.futurefarmers.com.au/

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 9,494 million (2014) and is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 23,100 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

Note to editors:
A photo in print quality can be downloaded from the internet at www.press.bayer.com and www.press.bayercropscience.com.

Find more information at www.bayercropscience.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup 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.

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