CHANDIGARH: German chemical company BASF plans to launch 20 new agricultural chemical protection products in India, a fifth of the total 100 such products it has lined up for rolling out in Asia-Pacific region in the next five years.
On key crops such as rice, cotton, soybean, corn, fruits and vegetables, the company’s research and development in India is focused.
while launching the company’s latest insecticide, Sefina, which protects cotton and vegetables crops from sucking insects, BASF India chairman Raman Ramachandran said, “The value of global crop loss due to insects is estimated at Rs 31.5 lakh crore annually.” He said that the fungicide has been found quite effective on cotton pests including whitefly, jassid and Aphis.
In the past year, BASF has launched three products in India and it plans to shortly launch a fungicide for rice in the country. Ramachandran said that the company is annually investing $500 million (about Rs 34,000 crore) on crop protection research in centres across countries including two in India. He said that the focus is on organic synthesis, advanced process and formulation research discovery chemistry for modern agricultural solutions and molecular modelling worldwide.
Around 160 scientists employed by BASF are engaged in research in India and the company has a global workforce of 1.15 lakh employees.
The company is also set to launch the insecticide Sefina this week in Australia, where it will be used for fruits and vegetables. “Growers in India are among first to benefit from this new launch that has no negative impact on arthropods and pollinators,” said Gustav Palerosi Carneiro, senior vice president, crop protection, Asia Pacific at BASF. He said that the company is marketing 30-odd products in India out of the portfolio of 300 products in crop protection category.
BASF is set to release an animated film through social media channels next month to educate farmers, to ensure safe use of pesticides.
Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
