The history of Produkt + Markt is closely linked to agriculture. Agribusiness research has been our core business for more than 40 years. Yet, what exactly makes us the perfect partner in this field of research? Dr. Dirk Aderhold gives good reason in this interview.

Mr. Aderhold, what makes the department of Agribusiness Research at Produkt + Markt so special?  

At Produkt + Markt, agribusiness is our declared core field of research. For more than 40 years we have been covering all issues around the entire agricultural value chain. We cooperate within an established network of strong partners, and we are well positioned internationally. This allows us to cover all of the agriculturally important countries in the world.

What distinguishes Agribusiness Research at Produkt + Markt?

Our deep understanding for markets, people, and products gained through years of experience. Therefore we are able to recruit target groups for our surveys with perfect precision, ask relevant questions, evaluate particularly profound, and provide our customers with realistic advice. Additionally, our research activities allow us to follow developing trends and to provide effective forecasts.

What kind of issues and challenges is your department currently facing in particular? How do you handle them?

First and foremost, there are these three issues: the digitalisation of agriculture, the difficult situation of agricultural markets, and the growing international network.

The digitalisation of agriculture is a dynamic progression, which simply involves lots of upheavals for the agricultural sector. Data-based process management, interconnected systems, automation, or modern sensor technology are just a few of the aspects worth mentioning. Our research projects put us at forefront of these developments, which we closely follow.

Another challenge is the difficult economic situation of the agricultural sector. There has been a continuous downward trend over the past 3 or 4 years, causing low prices for agricultural raw materials. Therefore our customers are looking for gains in efficiency as well as new business models in order to remain competitive. We support them in this endeavour with our research expertise.

Similar to others, the agribusiness sector is also very internationally oriented. On the one hand, the wide variety of international markets and the concomitant cultural specifics pose a challenge; however, on the other hand they are also true assets. For instance, this allows us to approach and examine research issues from various perspectives.

Many markets are now internationally connected and therefore also interact with each other. This fact makes our work even more exciting.

What characterises the team in which the customers of Produkt + Markt trust?

Within our Agribusiness Research department, our customers can rely on the expert knowledge of not one but three interdisciplinary teams. For one there is our Animal Health & Nutrition Research team. From small animals to large animals, from animal nutrition to animal health to animal welfare, this team covers all of the important veterinary-specific issues, and also focuses on Precision Livestock Farming.

Furthermore there is our Agricultural Machinery Research team, specialising in all fields of agricultural engineering (tractors, combines, accessory equipment, crop protection) and precision farming (digitalisation, networking, computer-assisted, high-precision work).

All aspects of crop production (seeds, crop protection, fertilisation) are covered by our team Crop Production Research. Just like the other teams, this one also focuses on precision farming. To us, it is very important to cover this and other topics in an interdisciplinary manner. Corresponding tools and joint work groups ensure efficient communication and exchange of knowledge between the teams.