Xavier Echaniz

Background

About Xavier Echaniz

In the team of the Fruit and Vegetables division of BASF Agro I am responsible for the entire food chain from the producer to the distributor and on to the consumer, working as well with trade organisations and regulatory bodies. We act as the link between all those involved in the sector in Europe, both inside and outside BASF, and deal with all aspects of the food chain. You could say I’m quite a generalist having to take many different factors into account. One example of that is the growing importance of sustainable agriculture, both for our customers and users and for BASF. It is really at the heart of everything we do. Sustainable agriculture covers a vast range of topics from water quality to residues, biodiversity, and human health. We help our customers meet the increasingly stringent standards set at the European and national levels, as well as the secondary standards set by individual sectors. I started in my current position in June 2010 after joining BASF in 2002 as a Technical and sales engineer in the South West of France. I was responsible for the area stretching from the Spanish border to Montpellier and dealt with fruit, vegetables, and vineyards. When I applied for my current job I had quite a lot to learn but was lucky enough to be able to rely on a great team within BASF who took me through all the ropes of homologation, residues, and standards. I’m extremely proud to be a part of Agriculture sector and enjoy the significant amount of time I spend out in the field working closely with our customers.