Bernd Naaf, currently Head of US Business Operations of Bayer CropScience, has been named Head of the new Asia Pacific region of Bayer CropScience effective October 1, 2004. Naaf also will be a member of the Executive Committee of the German based Bayer CropScience AG.

Bayer CropScience´s business activities in more than 120 countries are organized since July 1, 2004, in the three regions. Americas, Europe & TAMECIS (Turkey, Africa, Middle East, Commonwealth of Independent States) and Asia Pacific. The headquarters of the Asia Pacific region is in Singapore.

"Bernd Naaf has more than 25 years of international experience in our business, and we are confident that he will provide a major impetus to our new Asia Pacific region," commented Professor Friedrich Berschauer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer CropScience AG.

Bernd Naaf has been with Bayer for more than 25 years. Beginning his career in 1978 with the company's Crop Protection Business Group, he progressed through positions as Sales Coordinator for Southern Europe, Sales Supervisor for England's Southern Region and Sales Manager for Northern Europe. Naaf later returned to England as head of that country's Crop Protection Business Group, subsequently transferring to the Business Group's global headquarters in Monheim as head of Business Planning and Administration. In September 1998 he was appointed Head of Marketing in the Animal Health Business Group before he transferred to the United States in 2003, serving as Head of US Business Operations for Bayer CropScience in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 5.8 billion (2003), is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries, ensuring proximity to dealers and consumers.