BB 10 years Just call
'Healthy starting material is of the utmost importance'
Plant breeders will face major challenges in the coming decades. To become less dependent on crop protection products and fertilizers, and to develop robust varieties, huge steps have to be taken. Branch organization Plantum tries to support their members in this. Enough reasons to call director Niels Louwaars.
Plantum represents about 350 Dutch breeders and producers of seeds, planting and seed potatoes for all sectors of agriculture and horticulture. The seed potato trade has its own association (NAO). Plantum only stands up for the breeders here. Plantum represents the interests from the Netherlands, but also with an important network in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Plantum held its general members' meeting on 18 September. The Green Deal and Farm 2 Fork strategy was discussed. What does this mean for breeders?
"Our sector mainly sees this vision as an opportunity. We can do a lot with breeding, for example: Anticipating climate change and crossing resistances. We are already doing that with traditional breeding, but it takes a lot of time, so the time horizon is an enormous challenge. That is why we advocate as a sector for policies that can accelerate breeding such as access to new breeding techniques and genetic material."
Are you referring mainly to the use of the Crispr-Cas breeding technique?
"Indeed, that is the best known, but more gene-editing tools are becoming available. They can speed up the breeding process enormously, but then it must be allowed. It can help potato cultivation enormously, for example. It now takes at least 12 years to develop a new variety It is one of the slowest plant species in terms of breeding. In addition to adapting useful plant characteristics, the technique has another major advantage. You can use it to investigate gene function. You know exactly which gene does what. And that ordinary cross breeding can help enormously."
Are there indications that we will have access to new breeding techniques in the short term?
"The Ministry of Agriculture recognizes that they can play an important role in Europe. Most breeding and production companies are located here. Their importance is therefore very high and this also applies to a lesser extent to Denmark, Germany and France. debate, emotion plays a major role. This also applies to dossiers such as crop protection, which is also so important to us. If we stick to traditional breeding, we can still achieve a lot. It just takes much more time. In the Green Deal, 2030 is For a breeder that is almost tomorrow. They use an extremely long strategy to be able to plan 15 years ahead. Anyone who wants to present new varieties in 2030 should have started doing this 5 years ago. The requirements come as no surprise , but mainly confirm what breeders already thought 5 years ago. Yet they can never switch as quickly as growers would sometimes like to switch.Look at a resistance to the yellowing virus i n sugar beets. It will take a few more years to get there. It started earlier, but due to the availability of neonicotinoids, the question was whether there would be a market demand. Prioritization is always difficult. Farm-to-Fork provides a long-term vision based on policy."
You mention crop protection as a crucial part of Plantum. Why is it like that?
"The most important thing is to guarantee disease-free and high-quality seed and planting material for the sector. The ever-shrinking package of resources makes this increasingly difficult. Take, for example, seed potato cultivation and aphid control. Plantum champions a different approach when it comes to the authorization of resources. Central to this approach is that a substance should not disappear as long as there is no alternative. Certainly not when this substance is crucial for the production of starting material. The Ctgb has demonstrated through pilots that such a rational approach is indeed possible. requires a different way of thinking, not only in the Netherlands but throughout Europe. It is of great importance that space is created for experimentation. The Ministry of Agriculture will shortly present the joint Implementation Program Vision for Crop Protection, which should provide scope for this. The Netherlands may be a guide country are for the whole of Europe with a rationally progressive policy the rest of Europe and countries beyond, the importance is great. Almost everyone benefits from our starting material."
In addition to halving the use of PPPs, the Green Deal argues for less fertilizer and more organic farmland. What does this mean in relation to breeding?
"A number of breeders are already fully engaged in breeding in relation to fertilization. For example, potato varieties that can handle fertilizers and water very efficiently. For many plants there is a direct link between the yield and the use of nitrogen. Breeders are investigating whether this is With regard to the increase in the area of organic farming, the question is whether sufficient starting material can be produced for this. Other countries are now making frequent use of derogation, which makes it possible to use conventionally grown seeds in organic cultivation. does not fit in with the philosophy. We have to guarantee that starting material is disease-free. That is a challenge, especially in organic cultivation."
The breeding sector has often been in the news due to lawsuits about patent rights. There has now been a ruling. Does that help the industry?
"It concerns 2 policy points. On the one hand, access to genetic resources. To breed well, you need diversity. International regulations make this increasingly difficult. On the other hand, there is intellectual property – plant breeders' rights – and patents. After more than 10 years of fighting the sector has succeeded in making natural plant characteristics no longer subject to patent protection. The plant breeder's rights system works well to encourage breeding. Anyone can now use a protected variety for further cultivation, which encourages breeders. resting on a property is not allowed. A very big step has been taken from the Netherlands."
Niels Louwaars
Finally something else. How has the corona crisis affected the breeding sector?
"That is very diverse. At first, floriculture was hit hard, but that was later recovered for a number of products. In arable farming, you don't hear much about it in terms of breeding. That went fairly smoothly, except for some problems with the so-called 'green lanes' in Europe and the availability of sufficient PCR material at the NAK.There is a fear that some countries are not financially strong enough to purchase starting material.Countries that depend on oil for their hard currency or tourism have suffered major blows. Brexit is also lurking, of course, with potentially major consequences. The way in which the British government handles trade agreements gives us little confidence. It is now expected that this will cause additional phytosanitary problems. when they say goodbye to the European Variety List.This is possible when a specific British variety survey is required.It is up to the V United Kingdom to bring clarity to their legislation, but political opinion seems to be changing weekly."
Niels van der Boom
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