Partner Spotlight: BASF Agricultural Solutions
BASF Agricultural Solutions is proud to partner with FFAR on three innovative agriculture research initiatives focused on creating tools for more sustainable, resilient and nutritional food systems for indoor and field agriculture. Collaborating with FFAR advances solutions to global agricultural challenges that are essential for farmers to sustain the global food supply while preserving the environment. Independently and through partnerships, BASF aims to produce better yield and outcomes that strike the right balance of success- for farmers, the environment and society.
BASF’s investment in agricultural innovation extends beyond research and development to STEM education support initiatives like the FFAR Fellows Program. We are proud industry mentors to three FFAR Fellows: Horticultural Science student Xiaonan Shi at North Carolina State University, Integrative Biosciences student, Innocent Ritte at Tuskegee University, and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student Natalie Goh at UC Berkeley. Our mentors interact with these fellows throughout the three-year program, giving them insight into necessary skills and training for careers in the industry and supporting professional development opportunities. Our support of the FFAR Fellows Program helps build a talented and diverse agricultural science workforce that is prepared to solve global agriculture challenges with us.
BASF supports collaborations between industry, academia and public partnerships that together can address critical agricultural and environmental challenges. We look forward to continued partnership with FFAR and many more successful collaborations that result in solutions to climate change, crop productivity and sustainability.
Brian Vande Berg, Head of Trait Research at BASF
Brian Vande Berg leads the Trait Research group that mentors several of BASF’s sponsored FFAR fellows. In 2019, the BASF Agricultural Solutions team at Research Triangle Park, NC, hosted FFAR fellows for a visit that included a tour of labs and greenhouses and a career panel to provide an inside look at how BASF develops innovative and sustainable solutions for growers.