Seeing both sides of the Isoclast™ active story
Ramesh Babu, Territory Marketing Director – South Europe, talks about farmers and consumers and the satisfaction he feels in bringing the needs of both groups together.
Imagine being able to watch shoppers buying their fruit and vegetables – and knowing you had played a part in getting quality produce to the shops. That’s the situation Ramesh finds himself in when he goes shopping: “I feel proud that I work for a company which provides solutions to farmers to help grow these fruits and vegetables, thus feeding the world.”
With a farming background, and having worked in sales and marketing in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and now Europe, Ramesh is in a unique position to understand the issues from two sides – that of the consumer and the farmer.
Fruit and vegetables are an important part of our diet and make a vital contribution to our health. But as consumers, we are all concerned about the quality of our food. “We are picky and choosy, looking at shape, size, and flaws. The satisfaction I get is when a consumer is able to make their choice with a smile.”
Ramesh’s background helps. He spent holidays on his father’s farm, near Chennai in southern India, which produced crops like rice, lentils and vegetables. He later studied agriculture and joined the crop protection industry. This enables him to look at things from the farmer’s viewpoint and appreciate how organisations like Dow AgroSciences can help them. “I understand from the farmer’s perspective their challenges in producing a crop.”
Farmers today are faced with an ever-fewer range of solutions with which to tackle pests and to produce the quality produce that environmentally-conscious consumers will choose. With Isoclast™ active, farmers have a new tool to protect their crops – and Ramesh sees his role in this supply chain clearly: “I am here to help farmers protect their crops and to help them earn a decent living because they are able to get a better price for better quality.”
The quality of a product is important and growing produce that consumers will want to buy is essential, but part of the story is also about taking care of the environment and the land itself which provides the farmer with their livelihood.
Ramesh understands this all too well. He sees first-hand the balance that farmers strike, and the care which they place, on growing quality produce while at the same time not compromising the environment. Sustainability is paramount. The farmer wants to protect his farm and his livelihood to pass down to the next generation. He wants to use solutions that are safe for him and his family – and he seeks knowledge from scientists, agronomists and manufacturers to enable him to do so. Above all, it should be remembered that farmers are also consumers.
Choosing the right product is therefore very important for the farmer to help him protect the land and grow quality crops. This is where Isoclast can provide farmers with a sustainable and effective solution – and for Ramesh the benefits to both farmers and consumers are abundantly clear.
Ramesh Babu is the Territory Marketing Director – South Europe, based in Zürich, Switzerland.