Industry Insights: ADAMA CEO Steve Hawkins on Value Innovation, Biologicals and Advice for Struggling Companies

Renee Targos By Renee Targos|23 July 2024

AgriBusiness Global recently interviewed Steve Hawkins, President and CEO for ADAMA, about entering the value innovation segment, which includes supporting growers and motivating staff to be innovative in that support. Hawkins also talks about ADAMA’s perspective of sustainability and efficacy, its position on biologicals, and advice for crop protection companies struggling in 2024.

ABG: Is educating growers a part of value innovation segment?
Steve Hawkins: The value innovation segment does have a service agronomy support element to it as does the more premium segment. Whereas a pure commodity business is not focused on really providing agronomic support and overall solutions.

Grower support is an inherent part of our model in key markets. I visited India and attended farmer meetings in the villages where ADAMA staff trained growers. We offer support to local communities to help them use products efficiently.

We work with farmers to help them minimize applications and pick the best timing for applications. These types of support are available for our value innovation products.

ABG: What is ADAMA’s stance on providing biological products?
SH: We are in the biological business. What we’re not doing is making major acquisitions in the biological area. The reason ADAMA is in the biologicals business is our focus on customer needs.

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There is the debate going on in many of the regulatory bodies worldwide, in particular, in Europe and the U.S. about efficacy versus the potency of biologicals or biological pesticides versus synthetic pesticides.

For me, it’s not as simple as one is safer than the other. I let science do the talking here and let the regulatory authorities determine that. We are following all the regulations around the world.

We’re focused on having the right portfolio for farmers that gets the right balance between efficacy, environmental, and health requirements.

ABG: Do you have any encouragement for companies struggling through 2024?

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Editor’s note: This exclusive Industry Insights interview with ADAMA CEO Steve Hawkins is part of a three-part series. You can access the entire series here.

Renee Targos, as Editor of AgriBusiness GlobalTM Direct magazine, leads in content development, event programming, and managing the ABG Board of Advisors and strategic growth of the magazine. Renee’s professional experience covers more than two decades of national and international digital and print content development, editing, and journalism. She received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and continued her education with master’s level courses in business administration and behavioral analysis. Renee has served as a board member for several Arizona-based non-profits and government commissions. See all author stories here.

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