On Friday 21 January, journalist Henk Engelenburg of the daily financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad looked at the Dutch seed sector. The full articles are available for subscribers to read on the FD website.
Incotec in Enkhuizen is a living example of the importance of innovation in the seed improvement sector. Because after development, seed for maize, sunflowers, grains, rice, vegetables and tomatoes and the like are not yet ready for sale to the growers: it first has to go to Incotec, which adds properties to the seed.
Incotec adds a layer to the seed, so creating more “seed space” in which substances can be inserted to protect the plants or stimulate growth.
“For example, Albert Heijn insists that its lettuces have no aphids on them”, says director Jan Willem Breukink. “So the growers spray the lettuces between six and eight times. We put that anti-aphid agent into the husk, which means the grower does not need to spray the crop, thus delivering a reduction in the use of crop protection agents of up to 85%.”