AgroPages-BASF and Elicit Plant partner to promote new bio-solutions in the sunflower and cereal markets in France-Agricultural news

Elicit Plant, a pioneer in agricultural bio-solutions, and BASF France – Agro Division, a major player in innovative agricultural solutions, announced their partnership for the 2024-2025 campaign. They will combine their strengths to accelerate the development of the biostimulants EliSun-a^® and EliGrain-a^®, specifically designed for the sunflower and cereal markets in France. This partnership is part of a joint effort to address the growing challenges of modern agriculture while preserving the environment.

Climate change and its extreme episodes, combined with the decline of crop protection solutions, are making agricultural production increasingly complex and uncertain. It is essential to integrate new solutions into technical pathways to anticipate uncertainties and secure production levers, yields, and farmers’ incomes.

Innovative Bio-Solutions to Address Climate Challenges

The deployment of Elicit Plant’s two products responds to farmers’ demands and will be jointly supported by the commercial teams of BASF France – Agro Division and Elicit Plant starting November 1, 2024.

″Our field teams will be fully complementary from tomorrow; this alliance allows us to pool our expertise to address the entire distribution network,″ celebrate Antoine Wattel, Sales Director France at Elicit Plant, and Sébastien Ricard, Sales Director at BASF France.

EliGrain-a^®, specially formulated for cereals, and EliSun-a^®, designed for sunflower cultivation, are bio-solutions based on patented innovative technology that utilizes the natural properties of phytosterols. These innovations enable plants to optimize their water management, thereby enhancing their resilience to abiotic stress while maintaining high yield levels.

Sunflower, an iconic crop in France’s crop rotations, is currently facing yield declines due to prolonged periods of drought stress in various production basins. The bio-solution EliSun-a^®, by limiting evapotranspiration and stimulating root growth, places the plant in a more favorable position to withstand drought, resulting in an average gain of +3.2 quintals per hectare.

A Partnership for Concrete Results and Optimized Yields

Following a first launch on spring barley for the 2023-2024 campaign, the effectiveness of phytosterols on straw cereal crops is now applicable to winter soft wheat. When EliGrain-a^® is integrated into a conventional fungicide treatment program for cereals, it provides an additional advantage in terms of resilience to abiotic stress and productivity improvement, with an average yield increase of +3.8 quintals per hectare.

With solid expertise and a constant search for innovative solutions, BASF France – Agro Division aims to support producers by offering a comprehensive range of products designed to enhance the resilience of cereals and sunflowers while optimizing agricultural practices.

″This partnership with Elicit Plant allows us to reaffirm our commitment to agroecology and provide farmers with new concrete and profitable solutions. Our partnership aligns fully with BASF’s strategy to remain a major player in bio-solutions by 2030,″ states Pauline de Viry, Head of Bio-Solutions at BASF within the Innovation, Sustainability, and Reputation Department.

″This partnership with BASF aligns with our vision of transforming agriculture by deploying cutting-edge bio-solutions that ensure both farmers’ competitiveness and the sustainability of their practices. Together, we will accelerate the integration of innovative bio-solutions that not only improve crop resilience in the face of climate change but also pave the way for sustainable agroecological transition,″ emphasizes Jean-Paul Genay, Director of the Agronomy Division at Elicit Plant.

Thus, the combination of various levers, including bio-solutions and conventional products, will help secure productivity and profitability for farmers while supporting them in their transition to more sustainable agriculture.