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The Future-proof seed potato cultivation project is an initiative of HZPC to look at the future of potato cultivation with a group of 14 Dutch growers. After all, growers learn best from growers. While quality requirements remain unchanged, growers face high costs and virus problems as they are allowed to use fewer and fewer plant protection products. Moreover, many resources are scheduled for re-registration in the next five years. With increasingly stringent requirements, it remains to be seen whether they pass the test. So other, innovative measures are needed.

Within the Future-proof seed potato cultivation project, growers are working on other methods to keep viruses and pests at bay as effectively as possible. One example is straw mulching, a method that was applied by 12 growers, across 10 hectares in 2021-2022. This method is already used successfully in France. By surrounding mini tubers with straw, the aphids are less effective in finding the plants. Combined with oil, it has proven to be an effective approach. In 2022-2023, as many as 42 growers with a total of 125 hectares used the straw mulching technique. By experimenting and sharing experiences, growers can learn from and inspire each other. HZPC facilitates this by sharing knowledge and data. Other methods being explored include lower N inputs, gauze covers and strip farming.

We use all kinds of packaging for our seed potatoes. We are currently looking at how to work with more sustainable packaging materials and whether we can reuse unprinted Big Bags. We are working towards higher bulk sales and no more plastic in our packaging. We have also included a clause in all contracts with our packaging suppliers stipulating that they must not use child labour.

With smart technological innovations, we help growers and customers make sustainable choices. For example, with the Even Greener calculator and handy apps for growers.

Transport is a significant component in Royal HZPC Group B.V.'s carbon footprint. We are focusing on limiting transport movements and the optimisation of container transport. For road transport in Europe in particular, we work with fewer carriers. We choose companies that are actively working to reduce carbon emissions and also provide insights into how they do so. In this context, we are following the transport sector's own commitments: by 2030, CO2 emissions must be cut by half.

Producing food closer to home will only become more important. Consumers are increasingly demanding locally produced food and this also aligns with our commitment to increasingly sustainable production. Thanks to Local for Local, you limit the transport of seed potatoes and reduce CO2 emissions. The role of the Netherlands is increasingly shifting from producer of commercial seed potatoes to supplier of high-quality basic material. We thus aim to produce more and more seed potatoes close to the customer and consumer.

As a result of Brexit, it is no longer possible to transport seed potatoes to or from the United Kingdom. The British market now stands alone. We used to supply top quality seed potatoes and left the production to third parties but that is no longer possible.

 HZPC UK, part of Royal HZPC Group B.V., therefore acquired T.L.C. Potatoes Ltd in May 2023. This producer of high-quality mini tubers is the leading business in the Scottish seed potato industry. HZPC UK has been working with T.L.C. Potatoes Ltd for many years. The acquisition strengthens HZPC UK's position and ensures the continuity and reliability of the UK seed potato supply, which was jeopardised by Brexit.

This allows HZPC UK to bring new varieties from HZPC Research to market faster and strengthens Royal HZPC Group B.V.'s position as a world leader in potato breeding and seed potato production. For UK growers, this means faster access to new robust varieties, ready for the challenges of future seed potato production.

Royal HZPC Group B.V. has a multitude of varieties that each do well under different conditions. However, most varieties are less suitable for cultivation in tropical areas. Since 2017, in Vietnam, Royal HZPC Group B.V. has therefore been working with the potato institute CIP (International Potato Centre) to develop five new potato varieties for tropical conditions. The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture is funding the project.

CIP has been breeding in the tropics for some time. They have genetics that are better adapted to those conditions than our breeds. Instead, we have varieties that are more attractive and offer better resistances. Crossing genetics from Royal HZPC Group B.V. and CIP creates new varieties in which the best traits come together and collaboration with the CIP and with local colleagues is essential for success.

With more resistances, growers of these varieties can work with fewer chemicals while maintaining good or even better yields. Moreover, they can grow and propagate seed potatoes locally and the transport of existing varieties from Europe is no longer necessary. Candidate varieties are currently being trialled in a number of countries and breed registration in Vietnam is going according to plan.

Aaldrik Venhuizen is project supervisor of the Future-proof seed potato cultivation project. Before his retirement, Aaldrik worked for Agrifirm for 34 years.

In 2020, I had just retired when Frank van der Werff, Senior Head of Production, called me. He explained that fewer and fewer plant protection products were permitted for use but that quality had to be maintained. And asked whether I wanted to help HZPC guide the new Future-proof seed potato growing project. Since then, we have made great strides.

Together with a group of 14 growers from all corners of the Netherlands, we are looking at the future of seed potato growing. For several years, the industry has been struggling with potato virus Y (PVY). At the same time, fewer and fewer chemical agents are available to fight viruses and pests, while quality requirements remain as high as ever. Europe is increasingly reducing their use, partly because of negative environmental impacts and other stricter criteria. Whereas resources a few years ago met the requirements then in force, those requirements have since become stricter. Certain products are now being rejected during reassessment.

The future-proof seed potato cultivation project focuses on how growers can become less dependent on those chemicals while simultaneously fulfilling quality requirements. An important term in this context is 'integrated crop management': in the growing plan, growers deploy various measures to reduce the risk of disease and virus transmission. The emphasis here is on reduction, because no method can prevent transmission completely.

In 2020 we began a survey of the companies participating in the project: what measures are they already taking and what are the results? Growers share experiences and knowledge with one another and take a look ‘behind the scenes’ at their various businesses. Because growers learn best from other growers. Between 2021 and 2023, the growers involved applied their new measures and shared their experiences.

We have explored all kinds of measures in this way in recent years. One of these was how growers can incorporate robust varieties into a buffer strip to better protect the susceptible varieties within it from viruses. We have also examined covering base material with gauze covers or straw, so that aphids can no longer reach the plants or struggle to find them. Or no-till farming methods and using less nitrogen, which also makes plants less sensitive and makes haulm killing easier.

For growers, the trick is to discover which combination of measures works best for them. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is a case of finding a new balance. So, seeing what everyone else is up to is incredibly helpful.

After all, growers know full well that they need to change. And they are keen to make these changes but they need time to modify their growing plans and to examine what is effective and suitable to their business. You can't change everything all at once either because then you won't be able to identify the source of a particular result. So, it takes time.

The main focus so far has been on potato virus Y (PVY). In the coming years, this project will also focus on other diseases, viruses and pests. With the reduction of plant protection products, for example, you see growers suddenly facing the leaf roll virus again. That has not been an issue for 25 years. The ultimate goal is to develop a system whereby growers can choose a good package of measures. This type of system is effective if it can be used properly as a basis under all kinds of changing conditions.