BASF opens research station in India

BASF announced on Thursday that they have opened an agricultural research facility in Pune, India.

Research at the facility will focus on pesticides globally and how to further the development of solutions in crop protection.

“Raising agriculture productivity to meet the increasing demand for quality and quantity of food is one of the most important challenges facing our country," Raman Ramachandran, chairman and managing director, BASF India Ltd. and head of BASF South Asia, said. "By setting up a new R&D center in India, BASF aims to actively look into both local and global topics and develop sustainable solutions to help farmers to solve their challenges and improve food output to feed the growing population in India.”

Its location is an ideal spot, the company states, being in close proximity to many of the country's universities and research institutes. A portion of the research will focus on the agricultural climate in India, dealing with area-specific climate stresses including heat, flooding and droughts.

BASF has research stations around the world that allow research to be conducted during all parts of the year. The Pune facility joins those set up in Brazil, Germany, Spain and the Philippines.

“Our role is to partner with farmers and to work with them to protect the land they hold in trust for future generations and to meet the evolving expectations of society," Markus Heldt, president of BASF Crop Protection Division, said. "The team in India will contribute to these goals by driving the development of new active ingredients, new formulations and technologies.”