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BASF and the European Space Agency to Develop Digital Services for Farmers

BASF and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a collaboration agreement to evaluate how satellite-derived data and images can best be used for agricultural purposes. In close partnership with farmers, the partners’ long-term goal is to translate this information into digital tools and services.

Published 7 years ago | About a 1 minute read

Farmers will benefit by being able to plan everyday tasks more efficiently. For example, they will be provided with more targeted agronomic advice on the use of crop protection products and machinery. Satellites are a key data source for digitally based crop management operations. They deliver information for a variety of agriculture decisions, such as optimal planting and harvesting times. Both partners are committed to drafting, testing and developing innovative digital services to support farmer needs.

“We want to deliver customer value through innovations that address farmers’ changing environmental and economic needs. Initiatives like this are an important contribution to our approach to innovation. Our expertise and the leverage we create with our partners enable us to develop tools with a focus on agronomic insights to help farmers manage their operations more successfully”, explained Dr. Rainer Preuss, Vice President, Global Strategy & Portfolio Management, BASF Crop Protection.

“We will, together with BASF and farmers, focus on delivering real-time satellite-based information to optimise fertiliser use and reduce water demand for irrigation systems. This will both benefit the environment and bring down costs. Data from our satellites can also be used to enhance yield prediction, assuring a return on European investments in space,” said Josef Aschbacher, director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes.

In this collaboration, BASF provides experts as well as information from the company’s areas of specialization, such as agricultural know-how, field data and feedback from farmers. ESA lends its support to the project by providing satellite images and data.