The seeds and young plants sector is a knowledge-intensive sector with a lot of attention to knowledge development, from fundamental research to innovation. Breeding companies invest an average of 15% of their turnover in research and development. For some companies this is as much as 30%. The sector is at the start of the agricultural chain. All requirements that the grower, trader or end consumer places on a product must potentially already be present in the seeds and young plants. Society’s increasingly higher quality requirements demand innovation-oriented research. A strategic focus on building knowledge and skills in the Netherlands is also needed.
What you need to know
Continuous improvement of varieties is only possible with thorough knowledge of the plant and its environment. That is why plant research is very important. Plantum is committed to further expanding this research, both at knowledge institutions and at companies. Because investments in research only make sense for the longer term, sufficient financial resources must be made available from the government to carry out research, Plantum believes.
Fundamental plant research
Fundamental plant research is the basis of renewal, innovation and knowledge building. The outcome of this research is not known in advance, but it led to a Dutch sector that is internationally leading.
-
Leader in knowledge development
In research, from fundamental to practice-oriented, the many (international) research institutions form solid partners for companies. The Netherlands is a leader in knowledge development in quantitative genetics, physiology and phytopathology. Strengthening these fields and connecting to technological developments in bioinformatics, genomics and automatic phenotyping are of great importance to the business community. Because investments in research only make sense for the longer term, sufficient financial resources must be made available from the government to carry out research.
-
Talent training
Plant research contributes to the training of current and new talent for companies in the sector. To remain a leader, new talent is always needed. Fifty percent of employees completed higher professional education.
With its work, Plantum contributes to SDG target #7