Bosch and BASF have signed a joint venture agreement to globally market and sell smart farming solutions. This will see the establishment of a new company based in Cologne in the first quarter of 2021.

Bosch brings to the venture significant capability in hardware and software, as well as digital services. BASF Digital Farming with its xarvio Digital Farming Solutions provides an automated, real-time, field specific agronomic decision-making engine for weed management that is powered by the digital xarvio platform for crop optimization.

Andrew Allen, responsible for Commercial Vehicles and Off-Road Business at Robert Bosch GmbH said, “Thanks to connecting agricultural machinery using high-tech sensors, intelligent software and digital products, we can make tomorrow’s agriculture more efficient and at the same time more environmentally friendly.

Vincent Gros, President of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division added, “Both companies are committed to investing time, resources and funding in joint activities that will lead to the development of new sustainable, precision technologies that improve agricultural practices and outcomes.”

The first two products to be launched will be a version of the Intelligent Planting Solution, with enhanced digital intelligence for seeding and fertilizer prescriptions and Smart Spraying. The Smart Spraying solution combines Bosch’s camera sensor technology and software with xarvio’ s crop optimisation platform.