Except on Pricing, Farmers and Consumers See Eye to Eye
21 November 2011 Farmers and consumers see the farming profession in a similar light, even across cultures, according to a survey sponsored this past summer by German agricultural products and technology giant BASF, as part of its strategic shift to focus on sustainability.
Market research firm Synovate conducted the survey in June and July 2011 of 1,800 farmers on four continents in six countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, India and the US. It also interviewed 6,000 consumers in those countries.
Markus Heldt, president of BASF’s Crop Protection division, was upbeat on the views farmers expressed on their profession, and that they felt a responsibility toward feeding the world.
“When I saw the results I was excited and relieved, because it shows that farmers look at their job as their responsibility more than a transaction of business. They are clearly looking to take care of future generations and to take care of the quality of land,” Heldt said at a Nov. 8 press conference at the company’s headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany. “These results are shaping our strategy and have changed our strategy on how we are approaching the market.”
The results will help BASF “refine its mandate” to help growers manage the balance of securing productivity while preserving nature and supporting rural culture, said Stefan Marcinkowski, BASF board member.
“To help make farmers more successful, our job is to understand the increasingly complex environment of the farming community,” Marcinkowski said at the conference.
Here are some of the major findings of the Farm Perspectives Study:
• Eighty percent of farmers and consumers around the world agree that the primary objective of farming is to feed the world. Nevertheless, farmers believe consumers do not fully understand the challenges they face.
• US and Brazilian farmers are the most satisfied of those surveyed. In the US, 13% said they were “totally satisfied,” 25% described themselves as “very satisfied” while 45% said they were “satisfied.” The rest said they were either “not really satisfied” (12%) or “not satisfied at all” (5%).
• A small percentage of farmers in every country surveyed believe they are respected. The catch: More than 80% of consumers say they respect farmers, although they are convinced society in general does not. “I think most of us were surprised by this strong correlation and the high level of personal respect that consumers have for farmers in all surveyed countries,” Marcinkowski said.
• Most consumers say they would not pay higher prices for food produced in an environmentally friendly way, but farmers believe they should be willing to pay more for these products. US and German consumers, at 53%, were the most likely to say they would pay extra, although behavior at the point-of-sale is unrelated. “People tend to say something but make a different decision in reality,” said Harald Hasselmann, Synovate’s managing director.
• Forty percent of US farmers – the smallest percentage of the group – said they should focus more on consumers and try harder to fulfill their requirements, while 44% said consumers’ concerns are legitimate.
• Both farmers and consumers believe subsidies help keep food prices low. Only a small percentage among those surveyed believes farm subsidies are too high and interfere with competition.
• Consumers are interested in farming (from 84% in India to 50% in France), but admit they don’t know enough about it to judge it properly.
• One gap: Farmers favor describing themselves as “steward of the land” or “taking care of the land” in all countries, but consumers are more inclined to disagree.
For more information about the study, click here.
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