In a move that could redefine how rice farmers manage yield risk and soil health, BASF, a German chemical company, has rolled out xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS for RiTA in Japan, an AI-driven yield guarantee program that blends digital soil intelligence with outcome-based crop management.
The service integrates Humus, an AI-powered soil improvement tool, into BASF’s existing xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS platform to help farmers practicing water-saving Direct-Seeding Rice (DSR) cultivation achieve consistent yields while reducing labor and emissions. Partnering with Japanese sustainable agriculture firm Newgreen, BASF aims to bring precision agronomy and predictive soil analytics directly to the paddy, transforming rice cultivation from an input-heavy practice into a data-backed performance system.
BASF rolled out xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS in Japan, earlier this year, providing rice farmers practicing DSR cultivation with a free weed management solution. BASF now aims to support farmers in achieving stable and sustainable rice production by integrating soil improvement into DSR cultivation to address low or uneven crop yields caused by poor soil health.
In DSR cultivation, seeds are sown directly into fields without flooding. After germination, the fields are not flooded, and water is added as per requirement. This method eliminates traditional labor intensive processes such as land leveling, nursery preparation, puddling, transplanting, and water depth level management. However, the lack of flooding in DSR cultivation makes weed growth easier, making effective weed control a key challenge.
BASF Leverages Humus and Newgreen to Tackle Weeds
Xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS for RiTA in Japan will integrate Humus, an AI-based tool that provides personalized soil health prescriptions for rice farmers. The service has been built agricultural expert Takayuki Sudo, who has over a decade of experience with a New Zealand-based agricultural and soil consulting group and has worked on more than 10,000 hectares of farmland in Japan.
By integrating the Humus soil improvement service with our unique outcome-based xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS solution, we are confident we can deliver even better results and peace of mind for Japanese rice farmers practicing environmentally conscious DSR cultivation
Humus provides science based soil diagnosis based on diverse database of varying environment conditions, optimized for farmers usage. Through this platform, farmers can access consultative advisory services alongside personalized soil improvement technology, with the integration providing prescribed measurements of micro-nutrients that can be procured and delivered. The platform could potentially provide optimized solutions to boost productivity, stabilize yields, and improve profitability.
Also read: Royal De Heus Acquires CJ Feed & Care to Strengthen Operations in Asian Markets
Newgreen will serve as the single point of contact for farmers enrolling in xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS for RiTA, operating under the technical supervision of RiTA Japan. Farmers will have their fields assessed before receiving a comprehensive soil improvement prescription, followed by the xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS outcome guaranteed weed management program, helping them achieve greater certainty in meeting their yield goals.
BASF Striving for Technology Driven Sustainable Farming
According to Konstantin Kretschun, the newly launched rice yield guarantee service for Japan is grounded in scientific evidence and has been developed with synergistic partners for greater optimization. The service targets rice farmers using the Dry Direct-Seeding Rice method to to support stable and sustainable crop production. For him, product innovation is a key driver in developing scalable solutions that address global farming challenges.
The launch of xarvio HEALTHY FIELDS earlier this year was supported by field trials on 11 hectares of paddy fields using water-efficient Direct-Seeding Rice (DSR) cultivation.By utilizing the weed management program of xarvio FIELD MANAGER, an AI-based digital crop optimization platform, the trials suppressed weeds and achieved quality and yields comparable to transplanting cultivation. Furthermore, the trials were successful in reducing labor hours by approximately 70% and the absence of flooded fields reduced methane gas emissions from rice paddies by approximately 85%.
We will continue to deepen our understanding of farmers’ challenges and collaborate with stakeholders to develop solutions as we support Japan’s goal of achieving sustainable agriculture
For Japan, the introduction of multiple BASF led solutions can address the paramount challenge of reducing water use to ensure yield stability in a sector that is both a cultural staple and a shrinking agricultural base. By delivering promised solutions BASF can leverage its position at the intersection of AI, digital farming, and outcome-based business models, potentially reshaping farmer engagement with input companies. From a global standpoint, the success of BASF models could signal a shift from selling inputs to selling outcomes, driven by data-based risk sharing and sustainability commitments, potentially setting a new global standard.