We want to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable

ANNE JANCIC

Marketing & Business Development
High Tech at BASF ‘s vegetable seeds business

“BASF’s vegetable seeds business, headquartered in Nunhem, is the first company to combine crop, customer and consumer expertise to create customized vegetable solutions with partners in the entire value chain.”

A valuable contribution for our future

“We want to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable. Therefore, we strongly believe in the development towards a connected, data-driven, automated and sustainable production system with consumers’ needs in mind,” says Anne Jancic, Marketing & Business Development High Tech at BASF ‘s vegetable seeds business.

Cucumbers will move out of the commodity. They will be more diverse, more convenient, healthy and tasty. When people will eat cucumbers in the future, it will be an experience. The shopping itself will most likely become more of an experience, being an inspiration by itself, becoming more digital and informative – a (virtual) place where consumers and growers meet directly.

Also, the cultivation of cucumbers will develop further. Machine learning, AI, and autonomous technologies are already being incorporated into every aspect of our daily lives. They will increasingly have a place in greenhouse crop production. Powerful genetics are a part of that environment and the reason why BASF is exploring the capabilities of artificial intelligence and data driven growing.

Creating together is key

“Getting the best out of our genetics and offering vegetables people love, is always a joint effort with the growers, greenhouse technology suppliers, universities and the whole industry. We believe that collaboration and synergies are key and contribute to developing even smarter innovations – data driven growing and the movement towards a real smart greenhouse are two of those examples”.

Innovation combined with a deep understanding of customer and consumer needs drives our business at BASF

Andreas Sewing

Head of R&D, BASF’s vegetable seeds business

BASF’s vegetable seeds business, headquartered in Nunhem, is a global player with varieties meeting the demands of growers, value chain and consumers.

“Our ambition is to make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable - for people, our partners and our planet. Through the 500 billion vegetable seeds we sell per year, we reach more than 500,000,000 consumers every day. We want to contribute to the healthy diet of these consumers and be good to the environment. To pursue our ambition we combine crop, customer and consumer expertise to create customized vegetable solutions with our partners in the entire value chain.”

And it all starts with breeding.

Dedicated facilities for cucumber breeding

A 2.5 acre breeding greenhouse facilitates BASF’s capabilities to meet the needs of consumers and the global food value chain with novel varieties. The facility incorporates the latest technology to optimize breeding operations including plant hygiene locks, equipment and protocols to minimize infection risk, diffused glazing for optimal use of natural light, high roofs and high-pressure moistening for better plant climate and energy saving. In combination with marker technology (using genetic markers / PCR test = well-known nowadays) in the laboratory and indoor farming techniques (seed to seed cycles regardless the outside season), our breeding center reduced the development time of cucumber varieties by up to 25 percent.

“Innovation combined with a deep understanding of customer and consumer needs drives our business at BASF. We aim to develop vegetable varieties that create value and exceed the expectations of tomorrow’s consumer.”

Reduced environmental footprint

Our greenhouses are also at the forefront of modern environmental standards. Energy saving technologies and translucent screens inside the greenhouses ensure an even climate and reduce gas consumption by up to 48 percent. Repeated recycling, disinfection and cleaning of the cultivation water reduce crop protection residues in sewer and surface water by 99.5 percent which is above the current Dutch legal requirement of 95 percent.