BASF Presents New Solutions for Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Growing

The ideas behind “Smart Protection” programs are maximum flexibility for the choice of harvesting dates and reliable protection against diseases – plus optimization of residue levels.

3 Feb 2010 --- Fresh fruit and vegetables are healthy. Reason enough for consumers to help themselves from the fruit and vegetable shelves. All the same, an increasing number of consumers are not thinking only of their health when buying but also want to do something good for the environment. Farmers and dealers must make allowance for this trend and at the same time work profitably. From February 3rd to 5th, BASF will be attending the leading international fresh produce trade fair “Fruit Logistica” in Berlin, where it will present solutions tailored entirely to these expectations.

With “Smart Protection”, BASF has developed a product program which takes account of present-day conditions in agriculture. High quality, environmentally friendly production at reasonable costs, crop protection residues that meet the legally required limit values – farmers nowadays have to fulfill these conditions all at once. The ideas behind “Smart Protection” programs are maximum flexibility for the choice of harvesting dates and reliable protection against diseases – plus optimization of residue levels. One example of this is the intelligent combination of synthetic and biological crop protection products – biological products on their own are not enough to control plant diseases adequately, but they do form a useful and valuable supplement which serves to improve the residue levels and allow greater flexibility in the choice of harvesting dates.

However, more than modern crop protection programs will be necessary if agriculture is to become effectively sustainable. All persons involved – from producers to retailers – must work together as partners. Under the motto “Living Food Quality Together”, BASF helps its partners to guarantee sustainability along the entire value creation chain – from the implementation of sustainable crop growing in the producer countries to the formulation of a comprehensive sustainability strategy.

An instrument already used several times in these cooperations is the BASF Ecoefficiency-Analysis, which has been certified by TÜV and NSF. It takes a close-up look at the entire lifetime of a product, and comes repeatedly to surprising results. The most recent Ecoefficiency- Analysis compared organic apples with Braeburn apples produced by integrated control measures. It took into account all influential parameters, from production of the raw materials for agricultural inputs to final disposal. The holistic analysis of factors such as use of resources, emissions to air, water and soil, land requirement and toxicity and risk potential came to startling results: Apples produced in a controlled integrated way were, all in all, more sustainable than organically produced apples.

The Ecoefficiency-Analysis is an acknowledged method which can help the partners in the food supply chain to identify the areas in which fine adjustments can be made to costs and ecology. Visitors to the BASF stand at the Fruit Logistica can carry out calculations for themselves with a model Ecoefficiency-Analysis and learn, for example, how individual factors can affect sustainability over the lifetime of an apple. Experts from BASF will be there to answer questions.

Podium Discussion “Is Organic also Ecological? Prospects for a more sustainable agriculture”

The changes in consumer expectations and their consequences for farmers, retailers and the industry are among the central themes for the BASF Podium Discussion on February 4th. What are the advantages and disadvantages of organic and conventional production? How can it be ensured that all partners along the value creation chain act more sustainably and at the same time make customers aware of this? BASF has invited a number of renowned experts in various fields: Rudolf Behr, who is one of Germany’s largest vegetable growers and engaged in both organic and conventional production; Dr. Ludger Breloh, responsible for the purchase of organic fruit and vegetables for the REWE Group; Michael Miersch, a scientific journalist and author who has raised a number of controversial issues, e.g. with his book “Organic Food and Eco-Cult”; and Michael Ceranski, Head of BASF Crop Protection in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.