Segment profile
The Agricultural Solutions segment consists of the Crop Protection division. We develop and produce innovative solutions for the improvement of crop health and yields, and market them worldwide.
Indications and sectors
Fungicides
Protecting crops against harmful fungi
Herbicides
Reducing competition from weeds for water and nutrients
Insecticides
Combating insect pests in agriculture and beyond
Functional Crop Care
Biological crop protection, seed treatment, polymers and colorants
Sales
Factors influencing sales
Income from operations before special items
(million €)
How we create value – an example
Inscalis®
Innovative insecticide solution for use with numerous plants
Value for BASF
>€100 million
Peak sales potential
Value for our customers and the environment
3-fold
Advantages compared with conventional insecticides
Inscalis® is an innovative solution of a new chemical class for combating piercing and sucking pests. Inscalis® will play an important role in BASF’s insecticide portfolio, and be used for various plants in numerous countries starting at the end of the decade. We expect peak sales potential of more than €100 million.
Inscalis® offers a three-fold advantage compared with conventional insecticides. Effective in low doses, it is also characterized by low toxicity for beneficial insects such as bees and an alternative mode of action for combating the most important pests. For farmers, this means greater flexibility in application and higher yields with better quality.
Strategy
- Helping to feed a growing world population
- Long-term innovation strategy ensures future growth
- Development of solutions that go beyond conventional crop protection
Our strategy is based on long-term market trends. A key challenge of the future will be to ensure sufficient food for a growing world population. This means that farmers around the world need to increase their yields – and yet the natural resources for doing so, such as water and arable land, are limited. We see it as our duty to provide farmers with professional support in producing more – and more nutritious – food as efficiently as possible.
We are committed to the responsible treatment of our products and the environment. We offer our customers a broad portfolio of integrated solutions and constantly invest in our development pipeline to create chemical and biological innovations in crop protection.
Our research and development activities range from solutions for guarding plants against fungi, insects and weeds, to seeds and soil management, to plant health. For example, the Functional Crop Care business unit not only provides products for improving seeds and innovations for better soil management, but also biological and chemical technologies that make plants better able to withstand stress factors like heat, cold and nutrient deficiency.
We are intensifying our investment in growth markets and continuing to expand our good position in our core markets. In collaboration with seed companies, we benefit from the technological competence of our crop protection research. In addition, we work together with external partners to be able to offer the best solutions for our customers. With our own projects, jointly with partners like John Deere and in collaboration with farmers, we drive the development of integrated IT applications for modern, sustainable agriculture. One example is the Maglis® digital platform developed by BASF. Since its launch at the beginning of 2016, the BASF team has used Maglis® to support farmers in collecting, interpreting and monitoring a range of agricultural data. This enables them to optimize management and make better decisions in cultivating and marketing crops.