Livio Tedeschi, President of BASF Agricultural Solutions: «We are hopeful that Ukraineʼs pivotal role as a leading grain and oilseed producer will be fully restored»

In this interview with Forbes BrandVoice, Livio Tedeschi, President of BASF Agricultural Solutions, covers BASF’s support of Ukrainian agriculture, innovation, and digital transformation, ensuring food security and market stability.

The Pivotal Role of Ukrainian Agriculture

What role does Ukraine play in BASF’s global agricultural strategy?

Ukraine is one of the biggest and fastest-growing countries in agriculture. To show the impact of Ukraine on the world economy, letʼs go back to three years ago, at the beginning of the war. After the first couple of months, when it was unclear whether grain would be exported outside Ukraine, the world prices skyrocketed – as a shortage of grains coming out of Ukraine would cause a global crisis. This instantly highlights how crucial Ukrainian agriculture is as a domestic producer and an exporting market. 

How does BASF support Ukrainian farmers in today’s challenging geopolitical environment?

Foremost, I’d like to say that whoever comes from abroad feels a lot of respect for Ukraine. It becomes even more dramatic when you know a lot of people here. Our primary focus at the warʼs onset was the safety of our colleagues, clients, and their families. Recognizing the crucial role of the economy in national resilience, we understand that agricultural production is its foundational pillar. There were several waves of support. When the war started, all logistics and supply chains were immediately disrupted. It was February, at the beginning of the agriculture season, when farmers needed seed supply and all the inputs to get the season started. So we tried to support them as much as possible, initiating a campaign to donate seed and help farmers to begin the season. Now we are in a different situation when a lot of agricultural area is not accessible, and some crops have been moved to other places in Ukraine. For instance, all the vegetable crops in the southeast have been relocated to central areas of Ukraine. 

Farmers today face diverse needs. Firstly, to manage operations effectively, they require extensive advisory support and innovative products. We address these needs by providing expert guidance and our comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge solutions. Secondly, farmers face liquidity and overall economic stability. Thatʼs why weʼre actively collaborating with banks to deliver specialized financing programs for small and medium-sized enterprises within the agricultural sector. These initiatives are designed to ensure farmers successfully navigate the season and secure the essential inputs they require.

How did your initial operational plans for Ukraine change at the onset of the war?

Initially, we considered simply maintaining operations until the warʼs conclusion. However, quickly recognized the extraordinary resilience of Ukrainian farmers. They not only sustained agricultural production but overcame immense challenges, from relocating warehouses damaged by shelling to navigating complex logistical hurdles. Thatʼs why we navigated the complexities of wartime together operations by collaborating closely with distributors to deliver products directly to farms, necessitating the creation of novel logistical arrangements. The withdrawal of insurance support compelled us to witness an unprecedented level of collaboration across the entire agricultural value chain – suppliers, customers, and growers alike. 

Looking forward, we are hopeful that Ukraineʼs pivotal role as a leading grain and oilseed producer will be fully restored. Thatʼs why weʼre committed to continuing investment in cutting-edge innovations and digital technologies for seeds and crop protection. Our customers are looking beyond basic yield and productivity; theyʼre also focused on transforming production to lower CO2 emissions and improve sustainability.

What are the main challenges facing agriculture globally and in Ukraine particularly?

Today, agriculture faces challenges globally, including Ukraine, as it is one of the biggest exporters of agricultural commodities in the world. To export, partners need to meet the requirements of the countries purchasing Ukrainian products. These are all exported after a value chain kind of approach, which links producers and processors to a variety of other countries.

One more big challenge for growers is increasing regulation, with particular attention to CO2 emissions and carbon neutrality. They need to ensure high productivity and make sure that they reduce at the same time CO2 footprint of products. This can be done by changing agricultural practices like soil preparation or rotation of different crops, like cover crops, by selecting a series of inputs to optimize fertilizer use and enhance yield. Regulations are preventing climate change, and we see that the increase in temperature has had a big impact on agriculture. Humidity of the soils has been reduced, drought has become a problem, and high volatility is difficult to manage. So agriculture has on one side the task of reducing climate change, and, on the other side, farmers have to cope with the reality of much higher and more volatile conditions.

Shaping Modern Agricultural Operations

How do innovations help BASF to cope with the challenges in Ukraine? 

Innovations play an important role, especially when farmers face hard conditions determined by the war. They should use less agricultural land to satisfy the needs of the domestic population while sustaining exports, which are vital for the nationʼs economic stability. Thatʼs why ensuring maximum yield and productivity is now even more important than before. 

Our innovations allow maintain productivity as high as possible, but face the challenges provided by climate and new pests. Also, Ukraineʼs exports serve highly regulated markets in the EU and Asia, making quality production crucial. Therefore, enabling growers here to satisfy the needs of these markets is extremely important.

What innovative solutions does BASF offer to help farmers?

Innovation is mainly aimed at supporting agriculture to reduce the effect of climate change, but also to help farmers grow their crops in conditions that are much more variable than in the past. For example, xarvio® Digital Farming Solutions powered by BASF, or their business model called Healthy Fields, provides field-specific agronomic recommendations, meaning they can detect all the characteristics of the field. It operates lots of prediction tools to predict how the weather is evolving, and what is the likelihood that pests or diseases will occur at a certain moment. With the help of it, farmers may use the right inputs at the right time to minimize the cost of production and maximize the yield.

The second crucial area is crop protection. After establishing a crop, the focus shifts to maximizing its genetic yield, which is constantly threatened by pests, fungal diseases, and weeds. Therefore, access to highly innovative crop protection products that meet increasingly stringent regulations while delivering superior yields is essential. We have recently launched groundbreaking fungicides, such as Revysol®-based, that demonstrate exceptional biological efficacy. These products are versatile, applicable across a wide range of crops cultivated in Ukraine, and provide a substantial yield advantage over comparable alternatives. Our development pipeline includes novel herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, as well as advanced seed varieties. We are working on new hybrid wheat technology, and Ukraine is a big contributor to that because here we have one of our breeding stations.

So, we donʼt see Ukraine as just a consumer of products, but as contributing strongly to developing innovation relevant to Ukraine and other countries.

A Leaderʼs Perspective

How would you describe your leadership style? What drives you personally to push for sustainability?

Leadership is a continuous journey – I learn daily and try to adjust to the situation, be in touch with people, and understand their concerns. Trying to be in the field as much as possible, rather than in the office, makes you develop a much better view of what people might need and then try to deliver that. 

I like the idea of working in agriculture and dealing with innovation. It means I can share a visible contribution, caring for the quality of food and its availability. The best confirmation is when customers get high results from our products because they associate them with quality and ethical standards and then recognize the value of many years of innovations.

What are the principal objectives of your companyʼs five-year strategy in Ukraine?

In the past, we worked to support farmers, mainly to increase their productivity and the profitability of their farms. The change is moving from individual product-based innovation to this holistic view in considering the value chain as a whole. And again, because of the size of the different fields here in Ukraine, because of the diversity of crops, itʼs every known crop from vegetable crops, from oilseeds and grains grown here in high quality, and the potential of the area to continue to grow. Ukraine will be not only a recipient of innovation but a producer of innovation. We want to continue collaboration with growersʼ research institutes and research stations here to continue this innovation journey for the future.