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MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF says it is
strengthening its activities in R&D for sustainable agricultural
innovations, with more than 30 major R&D projects complementing BASF’s
"connected offer" of seeds and seed-treatment products, chemical and biological
solutions, as well as digital services by 2030, said Chemweek.
This
brings the company’s pipeline of agricultural solutions to an estimated peak
sales potential of more than EUR7.5 billion (USD9.0 billion), supporting BASF’s
aim to increase its sales share of agricultural solutions with substantial
contribution to sustainability by 7% annually, it says.
"By 2050, farmers
will have to feed an estimated 9.7 billion people, requiring an increase in
productivity of 50%. Digitalization has the potential to make an important
contribution to this," BASF says. As a response, the company is advancing its
digital technologies together with other innovations across its whole portfolio.
This combination will allow farmers to achieve better yield on existing arable
land, and support biodiversity preservation, BASF says.
Other innovations
that will help meet growing demand for sustainably produced food include BASF’s
advanced insecticides portfolio and new seed varieties. Meanwhile, the company
is investing in research on indoor growing systems such as growing lettuce in
hydroponic systems. These require less land, save water compared with
traditional open-field cultivation, and reduce the need for conventional crop
protection, the company says.
BASF spent EUR840 million on R&D in the
agricultural solutions segment in 2020. This represents about 11% of the
segment’s sales, it says. In 2021, the company says it will continue to invest
in R&D into agricultural innovations at a high level.
BASF has
committed to sustainability targets for its agriculture business by 2030. It
aims to increase the annual sales share of sustainable agricultural solutions,
and support farmers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 30% per metric ton of crop
produced. The company adds that it “strives to apply digital technologies on
more than 400 million hectares of farmland cumulatively by 2030, while
continuing to ensure the safe use of its products."
As per MRC, BASF says a “continued
and rapid escalation” in raw material costs and availability, as well as higher
manufacturing and transportation costs, has prompted it to increase its
formulation and performance additives prices in North America by up to
10%. The increase will be effective 1 April 2021, or as contracts
permit. |
