Aya Ono

Business Analyst, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd./Valent BioSciences Japan
Share:

An avid traveler, Aya was a backpacker when she was a university student, visiting Iran (twice), Morocco, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Bolivia, and India. She stayed three weeks in most of the countries so that she could really get to know the place and the people. Her top three breath-taking experiences were (1) inside a quiet mosque in Esfahan (Iran), (2) camping under a full moon in the Sahara Desert, and (3) a clear blue lake at 4,200-meter elevation (Pangong Tso) in India. She is also looking to beef up her LinkedIn page!

What are your main roles and responsibilities in your current role?

I am a business analyst and am currently dedicated to Sumitomo Chemical’s (SCC) agrochemical business in Europe. My primary role is to analyze financial situations, clarify problems and find solutions or make proposals from the perspective of our Tokyo headquarters. My role is much more than just calculating the economics of projects. For example, I led the financial analysis of a new active ingredient launch. Calculation of the figures alone could have been done on my desk but to create a sound business analysis, I worked closely with colleagues from marketing, sales, regulatory, research, and development. In addition to many team meetings, I visited field trials and listened to feedback from growers to really understand the value proposition. Through these experiences, I could deeply understand the project beyond the figures and prepare the economic analysis with good explanations.

Tell us a bit about your career. What do you love about your job?

I started my career as a business analysist with SCC. During the first four years at the Planning & Coordination Office of the Health & Crop Sciences Sector, I learned the basics of management accounting and the agrochemical business. When I was 28 years old, SCC sent me on a four-year ex-pat assignment to an affiliate in the U.S. and it became a turning point in my career. Valent BioSciences, the affiliate I was sent to, is a leading company in biorational solutions managed by many excellent people. Because the company is relatively small, I could meet and work closely with those people in various departments. They influenced me in many ways and now I strongly believe in the importance of biorational solutions.

One of my U.S. colleagues in business planning was an expert in digital tools, so I learned how to use a Business Intelligence tool for business analytics. Together we won an Innovation Award from Valent BioSciences in 2019.

After four years at Valent BioSciences, I am now dedicated to the management of our European agrochemical business from the Tokyo headquarters. This role is particularly challenging and exciting because the European market is leading the change to more earth-friendly agricultural solutions.

How did you decide to work for your current employer?

I chose the chemical industry because I saw drastic advances in technical innovations like mobile phones and PCs when I was a teenager and I believe that changes in the chemical industry can contribute to our society and change the world.

When I visited rural areas of Burkina Faso for agricultural projects with an NGO as my field study during graduate school, I saw people who were struggling with malaria as well as the spread of desertification. I chose to work for SCC because they had introduced a bed net made from an insecticide-impregnated polymer that controls malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. I also chose SCC because of their commitment to biorational products.

I decided to make my career with SCC because their business aligned with my interests and values.

How much do you communicate about your work with your friends & family?

I often discuss my work with my husband (within confidentiality guidelines) since he is a philosopher (teaching ethics at a university). He always provides thought-provoking comments. I also tell my children about my job, so that they can understand why they spend time at kindergarten/nursery during weekdays. Eventually, I would like to tell them how my company and my job contribute to a better world. I hope it helps them to think about their future.

What advice would you share with other young people looking to work in the plant science industry?

I would recommend that they meet people inside and outside of the company. Meeting growers, sales reps, researchers, and people in manufacturing brings an understanding of how our products are used and how a business analyst can contribute to the business and to the agricultural industry.

My other advice to young people looking to work in the plant science industry would be to gain experience in agriculture. I am lucky because my grandfather-in-law was a farmer and my parents-in-law maintained his farm, so I got to experience the life of a farmer. By working with them, I could understand the eternal war against weeds on farms, the difficulties of farming in the hot sun, and the importance of maintaining orchards. I also know the beauty of nature, like the clear and quiet air in the early morning and gorgeous sunsets over the farm. This helped me become aware of the farmers who are using our products and it helped me to understand our business. Experiencing professional agriculture might be difficult to get, but anyone can plant a garden or get a job picking fruit.

How does agriculture need to change to be more sustainable?

Our biorational products contribute directly to sustainable agriculture but most of those products require time to see the treatment result compared to traditional conventional products. For example, our biological insecticide needs to be eaten by larvae to stop their feeding (though it needs only one hour) while conventional insecticide can kill the larvae immediately. We also have soil health solutions that provide shorter-term crop health and yield benefits as well as improve soil health itself and as you can imagine, those effects cannot be seen immediately. The key to getting farmers to adopt sustainable technology is honest communication between companies and end-users.

Efficient crop production is the first thing we would ensure, and efficient crop protection products have key roles. The global food system needs to meet increasing food demands without a significant increase in farmland, and it also needs to keep diversity in choices of foods for various consumers in the world. We believe the combination of conventional chemicals and biorational products can achieve both our food demand and sustainable agriculture.

How can science and innovation help promote sustainability in food and agriculture?

I believe science will continue to change our lifestyle and I am excited to see the next innovation. This is one of the reasons why I chose this industry even though I do not have a science background.

Once innovation or an innovative technology comes, it is important for farmers to try the innovation and accept it while the corporation supports these farmers for a better understanding of the technology that promotes sustainability in food and agriculture. Also, an efficient and science-based regulatory system is one of the keys to securing food diversity.

In what ways are you or your company leveraging innovation to promote strong, sustainable food systems?

SCC has delivered solutions through innovation to people in many countries around the world. The external environment is changing day by day, including climate change and epidemics of unknown diseases. SCC is committed to discovering and developing both conventional chemicals and biorational products. We believe that balanced approaches, which include both types of products, meet the demands for grower profitability and better food production. In 2020, SCC established a new research team to focus on synthetic biology. This team will develop solutions for agriculture and for next-generation businesses as part of a sustainable society.

SCC will continue to take on the challenge of providing solutions that respond to the changing external environment and contribute to the realization of a sustainable future through innovation in technology and methods.

How does your employer/company support your engagement in activities outside of work?

Both the Tokyo headquarters and the U.S. affiliate provided many opportunities for volunteering and community engagement, including fund-raising for food-related charities and seed collection days from native prairies. I currently have two children (five and one-year-old) so now my whole “outside of work” is occupied by them. I face the same challenges as any working mother, but my employer supports me by allowing me a flexible work schedule.

Anything else you would like to share?

This is an exciting time to be part of the agriculture and food system. The world is changing as farmers look for more sustainable solutions. I’m proud to be part of a company that has a deep commitment to agriculture and to the good of society.

Aya is just one of many inspirational young people working in agriculture. Visit our NextGen #FoodHeroes page to hear from other next-gen innovators working to improve plant science and agriculture.