US: Farmers against merger of Monsanto with Bayer

Not everyone was pleased with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) approval of German drug and chemical giant Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto this week. After Bayer agreed to sell US$9 billion worth of canola, soybean, and vegetable seed businesses, as well as its Liberty herbicide business to BASF, the DOJ gave the thumbs up to the US$66 billion deal.

According to Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, the US$6.25 billion deal will consolidate control of more than a quarter of the world’s seed and pesticides market.

“This extreme consolidation drives up costs for farmers and it limits their choice of products in the marketplace,” he stresses. “It also reduces the incentive for the remaining agricultural input giants to compete and to innovate through research and development.”

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann says his company wants to help farmers grow more nutritious food in a more sustainable way.

The Farmers Union, which advocates on behalf of 200,000 farmers and farm communities nationwide, has pledged to ensure that Bayer keeps its word.

The DOJ spent months reviewing the proposed merger and determined that it would limit competition, but gave it conditional approval if it spins off US$9 billion in assets. This includes the sale of Bayer’s digital farming, seed and herbicide businesses.

Johnson says divestiture is an approach the Trump administration is taking in lieu of imposing regulations that would be subject to regular review.

Full Content: Public News Service

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