Aberje Academy of Brands Bayer – Business: Bayer Communication in Agribusiness

Experts show how the agribusiness sector has shown itself to be resilient in recent times

At the third meeting of the Aberje Academia de Marcas Bayer (Aberje’s Bayer Brand Academy), held in October, the theme Business: Communication by Bayer no Agro brought together experts in agribusiness such as journalist Nicholas Vital, curator of Aberje’s Agribusiness Lab; Daniela Barros, Director of Corporate Communications at Bayer’s Agricultural Division in Brazil; and Ygor Utsumi, account manager at Jeffrey Group, a Bayer agency.

On occasion, Daniela Barros stressed that Brazilian agribusiness is a force with enormous challenges and opportunities. She shared some cases to show the actions on image and reputation that Bayer has carried out. Focused on health and nutrition, the company has Science and Innovation in its DNA and celebrates 125 years in Brazil.

Since Brazil is a continent-size country with a tropical climate – more favorable to pests and diseases – and with many differences in soils and environment according to the region, it brings many challenges and an exciting journey for Bayer. “Agribusinss has the mission of feeding a growing population. The projection for 2050 is around 10 billion people in the world, so it is a great challenge to ensure the supply of quality food and respecting natural resource sustainably,” said Barros.

The importance of agribusiness in Brazil

The GDP of Brazilian agribusiness grew 9.81% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2020, driven mainly by the agricultural segment. For example, in the last 30 years, the cultivated area in Brazil has grown 81%, and Bayer’s grain production has almost quintupled, growing around 370%. In addition to the economic aspect, agribusiness has a social role, being responsible for one-third of the jobs in Brazil.

“In addition to its great economic importance, agribusiness is a great driver of Science and Innovation. This was one of the sectors that had the greatest increase in yield and a sector that has shown itself to be very resilient in recent times,” said Ygor Utsumi, from Jeffrey Group. “Brazilian farmers are pioneers in adopting new technologies and innovative solutions. A third of Brazilian producers are willing to sell up to 70% of their products online, according to a survey by McKinsey, 2021,” he said.

Utsumi said that Internal Communication was utterly transformed in the last year, with a whole renovation to make it closer and more interactive. “We have an internal communication that goes to the entire group, to all divisions in the country, and we have some ways to talk more closely with employees of the agricultural division, through a newsletter, a web meeting, and a chat with the president of the agricultural division, which takes place every two months, all in a way that is well-aligned with the group’s communication and with the marketing area.”

As for External Communication and the digital strategy, Bayer has PR work, led by Jeffrey’s Utsumi. “Agriculture has a robust trade for several reasons, one of which is that Bayer’s client producers are in the interior of the country and spread over several states. Journalists have a lot of technical knowledge, and just like farmers, they follow agricultural fairs, field days, trips and are very interested in the solutions. When it comes to packaging all this in the communication, it has to be in a very peculiar way,” he said.

 

The meeting can be watched here:

https://youtu.be/NqZGBTM-qzI