BASF launches xarvio™ FIELD MANAGER digital farming platform in Japan in partnership with ZEN-NOH

• Supports better agronomic decision-making, increased crop productivity and fosters more sustainable farm operations

• Link with ZEN-NOH’s Z-GIS^® allows farmers to exchange and manage farm-related data between both platforms in one place

• Initially available for Japanese rice and soybean farmers – with expansion to other crops planned for the future

Japanese rice and soy farmers will be able to use xarvio™ FIELD MANAGER, a market-leading digital crop production optimization platform developed by BASF Digital Farming, starting April 1. Already available in 16 countries, the launch of xarvio FIELD MANAGER in Japan is being undertaken in collaboration with ZEN-NOH to help farmers boost the productivity of their operations through the use of digital technology. Japan is the first country to launch xarvio^® FIELD MANAGER in Asia Pacific region.

xarvio FIELD MANAGER provides farmers with a comprehensive, field zone-specific, crop management strategy, from seeding to harvest. It delivers this using advanced artificial-intelligence to analyze multiple data sets including, historical agronomical data, crop type, growth stage modelling, forecast weather conditions, buffer zones and pressure levels, through to dosing regulation, disease risks and satellite images. The platform provides farmers with real-time alerts and actionable recommendations for planning and optimizing applications of crop inputs, which are customized  to each individual zone of a farmer’s field. The product recommendations provided by FIELD MANAGER are impartial. 

FIELD MANAGER in Japan has been specially adpated to meet the needs of Japanese farmers with the inclusion of specific features. These unique features include water managememt, seed treatment and seed box treatment, along with rice specific biomass maps, NDVI maps for small fields even less than 0.5 hectares, and a herbice program for soy. These features complement the local field trials conducted in rice and soybean fields by BASF and ZEN-NOH throughout 2020 to confirm the accuracy of growth stage and disease risk predictions under local conditions. The trials demonstrated excellent accuracy even in rice paddies where typical Japanese farming methods were used, such as seedling boxes.

Together with BASFʹs xarvio SCOUTING mobile application, which is already available in Japan, farmers using FIELD MANAGER can easily identify weeds and diseases affecting their crop in the field, and treat these problems more precisely, cost-effectively and with reduced environmntal impact. In the future, connections between xarvio FIELD MANAGER and smart farming technologies such as spray drones, GPS-enabled tractors, and field sensors will be enhanced to improve the level of precision, efficiency, and sustainability of farm operations.

Additionally, the connection with ZEN-NOH’s existing farm information management system Z-GIS^® allows farmers who use xarvio FIELD MANAGER to easily exchange and manage their farm data in one platform. BASF and ZEN-NOH will continue to cooperate further to develop and promote xarvio FIELD MANAGER and Z-GIS to farmers, even those with small and dispersed fields. Further expansion to other crops is also in scope.

″xarvio FIELD MANAGER is currently used to manage more than 5 million hectares of agricultural land and supports improved agronomic decision making in a variety of geographies. Through collboration with ZEN-NOH, we are pleased to help Japanese farmers better protect their crops from a variety of risks, including damage from diseases and weather, while helping them to use applications and other crop inputs more efficiently to foster sustainability and biodiversity,ˮ says Andree-Georg Girg, Managing Director and Head of Global Commercialization at BASF Digital Farming.

xarvio FIELD MANAGER is available as a free account, or as a paid subscription plan with more advanced features. To encourage farmers to experience xarvio FIELD MANAGER, it is available free of charge until July 2021. Farmers can set-up an account on  xarvio FIELD MANAGER website, and access the tool using their PC, tablet or smartphone.