Initiative "Agrovida" Bayer is the third biggest manufacturer of herbicides globally, and dominates the insecticides market. Insecticides are responsible for the majority of pesticide poisoning in Third World countries. Approximately 2 million poisonings are recorded each year, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that the number of unreported cases is likely to be nearer to 10 million. An estimated 200,000 people die each year from pesticide poisonings.

Bayer´s products on a wild dump site, Central America. Copyright: Coalition against BAYER-dangers.

In 1995 Bayer promised to withdraw its most toxic pesticides, but has yet to do so, and still sells pesticides rated by the WHO as 'extremely' or 'highly' hazardous. Bayer claims that it is the responsibility of pesticide users to take precautions, despite the fact that underpaid farm labourers often do not have access to health and safety information.

A boy without any protection spraying pesticides, Central America. Copyright: Coalition against BAYER-dangers.

To "minimise the risks to humans and the environment" Bayer in Latin America has started an initiative called "Agrovida". Several thousand people in the rural farming region in southern Brazil have undergone health and security trainings. According to Bayer "the information conveyed covered the basic concepts of integrated crop management, which is designed to optimize all of the measures needed towards sustainable farming. The crop protection part of this strategy concentrated on the safety of the user, proper storage of crop protection products, maintenance of equipment, and careful disposal of empty containers". The company admits that "the training campaign was perhaps only a small step in terms of the area it covered, but it was certainly a forward-looking step if one considers what an excellent model it could be for other regions of the world".

But even in Agrovida's home country of Brazil, the pesticide Baysiston, number 1 on the Brazilian market, poisoned hundreds of coffee growers, at least 30 of them fatally. The omnipresent advertising of Baysiston camouflages the risks. Many coffee growers even believe Baysiston to be a fertilizer which increases yields. The State Prosecutor who investigated the case complained about the publicity which presents the product as harmless, ignoring its potential risks. Bayer stated that the company is aware of cases of Baysiston poisoning, but that these cases were not due to lack of information but to "inexpert use alone.

Breaking of FAO's principles Training "several thousand people" might be helpful, but the fact remains that millions of peasants in Third World countries who use Bayer´s highly toxic products have never received any instructions. This means that Bayer regularly breaches the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation code of conduct, which it supports. According to this code pesticides should only be sold to trained and certified professionals who wear full protective clothing and should otherwise be taken from the market voluntarily. Greenwashing - what it's all about Bayer has a long tradition in greenwashing: the company has actively promoted terms like "crop protection" instead of "pesticides," and has embraced "Sustainable Development" and "Responsible Care." Across the world the company promotes the idea of non-binding voluntary commitments to solve environmental problems. In the 1980's Bayer countered the emerging environmental movement by intensifying PR activities and by using the corporate slogan "Bayer forscht fuer den Umweltschutz" (Bayer researches for environmental protection). Only when a Dutch court judged it as "misleading" was the slogan changed to "Expertise with Responsibility."