Chemical giant Bayer is entering the world of potatoes by entering into a partnership with the Dutch Solynta. This company has been developing potatoes from seed since 2006. The deal with Bayer should ensure that the first commercial varieties will soon be available on the African market.
Solynta from Wageningen has been working on the development of so-called true potato seed (TPS), in short: potatoes from seed. The company was started in 2006 and in 2011 it presented the first 'seed potato'. Many times their work was regarded as groundbreaking and revolutionary. As early as 2017 presented the company developed a variety with two resistances, but this did not lead to a commercial breakthrough. In 2021, €21 million was raised fetched among investors to accelerate development. Other breeding companies are also conducting research into potatoes from seed.
25 grams of seed replaces 2.500 tons of seed potatoes
The company is now entering into a partnership with Bayer to commercially produce and market potatoes from seed. Both parties announced this today (June 24). Kenya and India are the first two countries where the TPS varieties become available. A bag of 25 grams of seed then replaces 2.500 tons of traditional seed potatoes. This greatly simplifies transport to distant and difficult-to-reach destinations.
According to Frank Terhorst of Bayer, the advantage for this company is that it can support small farmers in Africa and India and thus improve food security in a country. “We expect potatoes grown from seed to have a positive impact on communities.” One of the biggest challenges for these growers is the availability of high-quality starting material. Potato seed does not carry any diseases and can therefore make a big difference. To roll out the product commercially, Bayer is using its existing network for the sale of vegetable seeds.
Focus on major markets
According to Solynta CEO Peter Poortinga, hybrid breeding is now a proven concept. "The collaboration with Bayer ensures that we... true potato seed can be used commercially on a larger scale worldwide. India is the second largest market for potatoes worldwide, which is why the company is focusing on this. In Kenya, the potato is the number two most popular food.
It remains to be seen how soon we will see hybrid potatoes from seed in Western Europe. In 2021, Solynta announced a collaboration with Averis, Avebe's breeding company. It was then announced that the first commercial varieties were expected in 2027. The advantage of the hybrid breeding process is that it can bring a resistant variety to the market in five years, while traditional breeding takes fifteen years. Despite almost two decades of research, the use of hybrid varieties has not yet been rolled out commercially.
New leadership
Earlier this year, Solynta announced a new identity with which it shifts from a purely research-driven organization to commercial work. The collaboration with Bayer is not a huge surprise. In addition to the company recruiting Peter Poortinga (former CEO of Plukon Food Group), Joost van Regteren also came on board as CCO. He previously worked as head of market development at Bayer's vegetable seeds business.