03 Working on food security

The worldwide food demand continues to grow immensely. A growing world population and greater prosperity in various parts of the world explain this growth. Only a small part of the growing food demand can be produced on new agricultural land (to be developed).

This growing food demand will have to be met, for the most part (80%), by higher yields on existing agricultural land. As market leader in potato breeding, we have a major responsibility in this respect.

When working on food security, we focus on:

In order to feed more people across the globe, our breeding programmes focus on food quality, disease resistance and yield. We also want to increase the nutritional value per square metre cultivated, and in so doing, contribute to the improvement of the global food supply.

There are still major differences in terms of yield in weight per hectare. An average of 47 tons is harvested per hectare in Western Europe, whereas the volume is just 17 and 19 tons, respectively, in Russia and China. This major difference is caused, for the most part, by the lack of high-quality seed potatoes and lack of product knowledge and proper mechanisation.

Often the production is also limited due to susceptibility to disease. We can increase the yield per hectare substantially by supplying high-quality seed potato varieties with excellent properties, in combination with sharing product knowledge and cultivation expertise.

1. The development of new, strong varieties for more countries
2. Research & development with respect to innovation
3. Sharing expertise with customers and growers
4. Reaching more people

A spearhead in our new breeding strategy is the development of new varieties with high (intrinsic) qualities, for cultivation under difficult conditions such as heat, drought or poor soil. And varieties that are disease resistant. As a result, the sustainable cultivation of potatoes is encouraged and contributes towards food security.

We would like to achieve some of the goals relating to the development of new, improved varieties by 2030. This concerns varieties that we are currently developing. These varieties will not (yet) be commercial in 2030. It might take 10 years before there is a substantial acreage of these varieties in European fields.

As well as accelerating variety development as much as possible, it is also important that our customers can include varieties in the variety list more quickly so that we can work together on improving sustainability in the potato chain.  There are also several candidate varieties on the way, which fulfil our aims. It is up to us to introduce these as quickly and effectively as possible.

With a wide network of test field locations around the world, we have included the most important climates and cultivation conditions in our variety testing. We aim to improve the performance of our varieties even further with research into the best degree of irrigation and fertilisation per variety. R&D conducts projects on stress (heat, drought, poor soil) among other things. We aim to increase the yield for growers of seed potatoes as well as the yield for the grower at the final destination.

HZPC Holding would like to add 5 new, improved varieties to the catalogue of varieties each year. These varieties were included during recent years:

Research & Development (R&D) is the driving force behind our operations. We have a broad network of trial field locations worldwide. We cover the most important climates and growing conditions in our varied trials. We aim to improve the performance of our varieties even further with ongoing research into the best degree of land use, irrigation and fertilisation per variety.

Direct contact

We are improving yields and preventing food wastage by offering production/technical support (with respect to agronomy) to chain partners. This direct contact with chain partners and customers creates an international team. Everyone has direct responsibility for serving our clients in the potato chain as effectively as possible.

The world is constantly shifting when it comes to demographics and consumer behaviour. In large, emerging economies, such as India and Sub-Saharan Africa, the population is increasing rapidly. The demand for food and, in turn, potatoes is steadily increasing. In these densely populated countries with unprecedented population growth, the potato is the ideal crop. With little input, people can grow a nutritious product in a relatively short period of time. We are also seeing Western eating habits increasingly taking hold, including an increase in the consumption of fries, for example.

Every year, we aim to reach out to more people worldwide with our potato varieties. In this way, we can contribute to food security and to a healthier diet. We focus on adding new countries. In this context, we are also introducing new potato varieties that are suitable for local growing conditions so that we can improve seed potato sales.

Structurally speaking, with direct and indirect sales, we delivered to 97 countries. We talk of structural sales if a country purchases seed potatoes for three consecutive years or in four years out of five.

Giving small scale farmers in Africa access to high-quality seed potatoes

Helping small scale African farmers to improve their food production is extremely important in response to the strong growth in population and demand for food. Top quality seed potatoes are rarely used. Consequently, harvests are up to five times smaller.

The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture from Switzerland helps small scale farmers in developing countries to achieve higher incomes through innovation and sustainable agriculture. Their project ‘Seeds2B’ offers farmers access to top quality seed potatoes. The focus within this project is on potatoes as they can help to provide food security while having a low impact.

HZPC is a partner of Seeds2B. With its knowledge and strong variety portfolio, HZPC contributes to the development of the market for small scale farmers in this tropical region. Twelve varieties are now officially approved for import to the various countries in the region.

Small farmers big deal

Small farmers, big deal, an initiative by Agriterra, calls upon agri-food enterprises, the Dutch government and knowledge institutions to give farmers' organisations and cooperatives in developing countries a bigger role to play in Dutch trade, aid and investment policy. HZPC is a member of the initiative group behind Small farmers big deal.

There are areas that are almost impossible to access with seed potatoes. This could be due to politics, for phytosanitary reasons or simply because the logistics are too expensive. Growing hybrid potatoes from seed could be an answer in terms of providing food security.

Hybrid breeding allows us to create new, good quality potato varieties which can be grown with reduced pesticides much more quickly. A hybrid brings out the best of two systems to create optimum performance. 

In 2021, we used trial fields in Kenya, France and the Netherlands to test potatoes grown directly from seed. The trial was very successful. We expect to be able to enter the market by 2025 and will focus on locations such as Sub-Saharan Africa and India, where seed potato distribution is very challenging. After 2025, improved hybrid varieties will follow.

Additionally, we help countries that are hard to reach with seed potatoes due to their location and/or a highly limited inland infrastructure system, to buy and receive fresh seed potatoes on a regular basis. Thanks to our belief in innovating with hybrid breeding, as long as conditions stay favourable, we should be able to supply potato seed in the near future. It is much easier to transport seed to these types of area. Furthermore, growers can be provided with good quality seed which allows them to start potato growing.

Feasibility study in Tanzania

In Sub-Saharan Africa, we are seeing two trends. First, the need for adequate food. Second, a changing and growing economy that is simultaneously bringing about shifts in dietary habits. The development of professional channels for fast food, for example, is continuing apace. These developments require good initial material so that a great product can be developed.

In 2018, we initiated a feasibility study in Tanzania. We are examining, for example, whether our existing HZPC seed potato varieties could grow well under Tanzanian conditions. We are also exploring whether a local seed potato production network of growers could be created in order to guarantee continuity.

We imported third-year Dutch seed potatoes and bred these for a further two years locally. As a result, the Tanzanians have more vital seed potatoes compared to if they continued breeding their existing ware potatoes. This means that local growers have higher yields and greater harvest securities.

We are also supporting growers with technology and helping them to sell on their yields. This could involve harmonising supply and demand in the potato chain, for example. An additional advantage is that the structural and professional approach to this project has meant that growers can obtain financial support more easily from institutions such as banks.

The annual purchase of new and vital seed potatoes has benefits for the grower and buyer but also for the (growing) environment. All of the collective efforts help to make Tanzania an attractive location for players in the professional channels, such as the potato processing industry or the food service.

In the colleges and universities of Tanzania, we have also contributed towards expanding expertise regarding potatoes, for example by supporting the development of school gardens. This is another way to grow together.

As a business, we must be able to anticipate the changing requirements associated with the cultivation of potatoes, as well as changing conditions. We aim to maintain the genetic diversity (variances in origin) of the potato crop. This natural treasure will therefore also be available for future generations. This diversity is extremely important in terms of global food supply.

New diseases and pests might come into play, the climate is changing and the world population is growing. The demand for sustainable products is also increasing and consumer needs change. The solution to new problems can sometimes be found in the properties of old varieties, in potato plants in other countries (in agricultural systems or outside them) or in gene banks.

We focus on:

• collaboration with gene banks
• breeders’ exemption
• complying with the Nagoya Protocol and International Treaty
• developing new potato varieties in order to safeguard genetic diversity

Collaboration with gene banks

We attach considerable value to successful collaborations with gene banks. We therefore collaborate with the most important sources of genetic diversity. We have partnerships with institutions including the Wageningen gene bank, for maintenance and evaluation, and also the SASA gene bank in Scotland.

Collaborative project with CIP in Peru

HZPC started collaborating with the CIP (International Potato Centre) in Peru in 2014. This organisation provides solutions to problems around the world such as hunger, poverty and the disappearance of natural raw materials.  The collaboration focuses on ‘Benefit Sharing with custodian farmers’. These local growers work under difficult conditions and often live in abject poverty. Benefit sharing means that the local growers who grow national varieties will enjoy greater benefits for their efforts.

We also work with CIP (potato institute Centro Internacional de la Papa) in Vietnam on developing five tropical varieties that are well-adapted to the conditions.

Breeders’ exemption

Breeders' exemption makes it possible to use genetic material freely for further breeding.   Genetic sources and biodiversity form the parental material for plant breeding. It is therefore extremely important for plant breeding purposes to have access to all genetic sources (modern and old).

Plantum is the industry association for companies in the vegetative propagation material sector. Plantum formulated a standpoint to make it possible to use genetic material freely for further breeding or breeders' exemption. Euroseeds represents the interests of sector members coming from EU Member States.

Complying with the Nagoya Protocol and International Treaty

The Nagoya Protocol, signed by the European Commission, refers to genetic sources and the fair and ethical distribution of benefits which result from the use of these sources.The stipulations of the Nagoya Protocol are binding for the countries which have signed it.

The International Treaty is another protocol variant for complying with the CBD (Convention of Biological Diversity). We contribute towards the initiatives of the Nagoya and International Treaty to structurally support genetic sources. A definitive agreement in this regard is under development.