RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 6, 2021 – BASF’s entire Greenhouse & Nursery product portfolio will now be available in both English and Spanish. While no law requires manufacturers to provide Spanish versions of a pesticide label, BASF has identified this as a critical customer need for safety, stewardship, and ease of use. For many in the agricultural industry, Spanish is the first learned language. This fact, combined with the highly technical language and information presented on pesticide labels, presented an opportunity to better serve customers.
“As a grower, I worked alongside many native Spanish speakers,” says Leah Van der Heide, Greenhouse & Nursery Specialist. “I quickly recognized the need for Spanish labeling when I struggled to fully communicate the basics of using pesticides with my team. Overtime, my Spanish greatly improved, however, those very specific details within a label were still extremely difficult to properly translate.”
This initiative was championed by the Greenhouse & Nursery sales team. In line with BASF’s core values of diversity and inclusion, the team was empowered to swiftly address this need. Within six months, product labels were translated and published online where they are now easily accessible to all users.
“I am glad to hear BASF is working to make it easier for Spanish-speaking growers. Spanish speakers will be more confident to use a chemical, in which those labels are explained in their native language, and will be able to follow the directions fully,” says Javier Lopez, Altman’s Specialty Plants. “They can now experience the same benefits as when you read a label in English: 100% comprehension.”
