Agrico and HZPC on the future of Dutch potato cultivation: ‘Innovation and knowledge determine our success’ Just as for other agricultural crops, seed potato cultivation will also be dominated by scaling up in the coming years. Experts in the sector anticipate that in ten years’ time, only about 2,000 of the present 3,000 seed-potato growers will remain. It is expected, however, that the present cultivated area of 36,000 hectares will remain stable. 14 COURIER 1/08
For more than a century, the Netherlands has been a leader in seed potato production. With an area of approx. 36,000 hectares, it accounts for about 40 percent of the total Western European acreage. The Netherlands is the leader in the fields of new varieties and export, and has made a name for itself in terms of cultivation knowledge and modernization. But will this remain the case Competition from other countries has increased in recent years, with France, Germany and Scotland in the lead. How are Dutch commercial companies dealing with this And how do they plan to remain leaders in the world of seed potatoes The two largest commercial companies, HZPC and Agrico, give their vision of the future in five main areas (competition, varieties, licenses, diseases and knowledge). Competition “Yes, it is true - the Netherlands is losing something of its lead.” Gerard Backx, General Director of the commercial seed potato company HZPC does not beat about the bush. He sees other countries, with France furthest ahead, slowly stealing a share of the market from the Netherlands. “But you have to consider this in proportion,” he emphasizes. “Each year the Netherlands exports about 700,000 tonnes of seed potatoes. Our most important competitors France, Scotland and Germany together export about 230,000 tonnes. I anticipate that in the coming years, the relationship will shift at the very most by a few thousand tonnes. So we are therefore talking about an approximate one percent change.” One area in which the Netherlands is miles ahead of other countries at the moment is the breeding of (successful) new varieties. Both Agrico and HZPC are making an important contribution to this through their own breeding operations (Agrico Research and HZPC Metslawier). However, Backx is not saying that the Netherlands has nothing to fear. “As a leading seed potato-producing country, we shall have to keep up in terms of knowledge, quality and modernization. Other countries are busily catching up on all three points. We must therefore do everything we can to maintain our lead.” France in particular is doing well Jan Van Hoogen, Commercial Director at the commercial potato company Agrico, confirms these efforts to overtake the Netherlands. In his view, France in particular has made great progress. “With regard to cultivation knowledge, mechanization and storage technology, the French are no longer behind the Netherlands. They can grow potatoes just as well as we can.” Van Hoogen emphasizes that the emergence of other countries is not disadvantageous for the Netherlands per se. “All large Dutch commercial companies have subsidiaries or establishments in France, Germany and Scotland. And in recent years, they have all grown considerably. As a result, the market share of Dutch varieties has also increased greatly. A large part of the money that we earn from this returns to benefit Dutch growers.” Varieties One point in which the Netherlands remains miles ahead of other countries is the breeding of (successful) new varieties. Both Agrico and HZPC are playing an important role here with their own breeding operations (Agrico Research and HZPC Metslawier). The two commercial companies each deal in about 100 different potato varieties, the majority of which they have bred themselves. HZPC director Backx says that about 70 of the 100 varieties are being actively produced and marketed. The others are either in the introductory or run-down phases. HZPC aims to get three new cultivars onto the European List of Varieties each year. Of these, at least one must become a commercial success, which requires that after an introductory period of three to five years, at least 100 hectares must be cultivated, with total production of at least 3000 tonnes. If the variety does not reach this threshold, it will be withdrawn from the market as quickly as possible. “The reality is that many varieties remain on the borderline. You have to clear these out so that the successful varieties get more space on the plots,” is how Backx describes the strategy. In practice, this sometimes meets with resistance – but this is part of the trade, he says. “In the case of the potato, there is an enormous hodgepodge of wishes from around the world. We try to meet these as much as we can – but not at any price. Sometimes varieties do well in small niches. But the niches must ultimately contribute to the orga - nization’s results. If that fails, we get our fingers burnt. A variety must be profitable.” Well-known varieties have a lot of power According to Backx, the success of a variety depends on many factors. Obviously the properties of the variety play a very important role, but the ‘pulling power’ of the known major varieties must not be underestimated. For HZPC, these are above all the varieties Spunta and Desirée – both breeds from the ‘forebears’ of the company, Hettema and De ZPC. Backx: “In important export markets such as North Africa, Spunta in particular has a cast-iron image. The variety stands for confidence, quality and reliability. For growers in this region, a new variety should preferably have the shape and qualities of a Spunta. And of course the variety must be demonstrably better.” HZPC does indeed have an ‘improved Spunta’, Backx says. “Only it takes a great deal of time and effort to convince our customers of this.” ‘Breed what the customer wants’ According to Agrico Commercial Director Van Hoogen, the secret of a successful breed always lies in the wishes of the customer or consumer. “The art is therefore to remain in discussion with all parties in the chain, so that you can provide them as far as possible with varieties that possess the desired qualities.” As an example, he gives the desire of the French fries industry to be able to use the same variety all year round, in order not to have to make any changes in the factory, and to be able to supply a constant quality to the end-user. “For us, that means a continuous search for varieties that produce a high yield early in the season, and allow storage until the new season without loss of quality. The closer we come to that, the more rapidly new varieties are accepted.” Licenses The use of new, licensed varieties is also vital for both companies in order to regain the investment made for all the breeding efforts. After approval on the Variety List, 1/08 COURIER 15
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