Marc Aupetitgendre is 42 years old and has been the CEO of Bayer Crop Science Italia since July 2019 after working for 4 years at the company headquarters in Germany and in France before that.
Freshplaza (FP): Consumers are increasingly aware of residues and respect for the environment: how are you dealing with it?
Marc Aupetitgendre (MA): Bayer Crop Science's strategy is clear. We invested a lot in research and development, focus on sustainability and believe in digital agriculture. By combining seeds/plants, crop protection products and technological innovation, we come up with customized solutions for producers.
FP: Everybody's talking about sustainability, but how can we be sustainable?
MA: We can say whatever we want but it is all useless if there is no economic return for the farmers. We need to understand society's needs while at the same time helping businesses be profitable. An important objective for us is linked with climate change and carbon dioxide sequestration. There are agricultural models that, if implemented, enable production while reducing CO2 emissions.
FP: There is also a lot of talk about herbicides and alternative molecules.
MA: We are investing a lot on R&D on this front too, as it is a very important topic on a global level. We have invested considerable resources on finding new solutions to manage weeds within the next 10 years.
FP: How do you consider the Italian market?
MA: I am not the first to say Italy is a very important country from an agricultural point of view, not so much when it comes to quantity but rather for its high-quality and biodiversity. We believe it is a fundamental market. Italy processes a lot of produce and supplies products of a high value. Diversity is its strength and needs to be promoted.