Bayer AG - Stockholders' Newsletter Third Quarter 2007 - Vocational training opportunities to underprivileged youths in India

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Bayer CropScience provides vocational training opportunities to underprivileged youths in India

Bayer CropScience is playing an active part in improving the living conditions of children in India.

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Bayer CropScience is playing an active part in improving the living conditions of children in India.

Hyderabad. Bayer CropScience is supplementing its efforts on behalf of underprivileged children and teens in India by establishing a vocational training center. The center will systematically prepare youngsters for the world of work they will encounter after completing their education, teaching them the professional agricultural skills that will enable them to sustainably improve their living standards. Priority will be given to young people who had to do field work as children.

Bayer CropScience Chairman Professor Friedrich Berschauer and Dr. D. N. Rao, Secretary General of Vignana Jyothi, a non-profit organization for rural development, recently signed a letter of intent to launch the project. Bayer CropScience will provide initial funding for the establishment of the vocational training center. The company will also contribute to the design of the curriculum to ensure its practical relevance, provide technical expertise and bear the cost of the students’ housing and tuition.

The vocational training program is part of the Bayer CropScience “Learning for Life” initiative. In the context of this initiative, Bayer CropScience has already established 19 bridge schools designed to reintegrate children who had previously worked in the fields into the Indian education system.