Month: April 2023

Sustainable solutions: the golden guidelines for Hazera

Posted on Apr 24, 2023

Saturday, April 22 was World Earth Day. A day dedicated to environmental protection and thinking about sustainable solutions to reduce our carbon footprint. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are the golden guidelines for Hazera to adhere to when offering sustainable solutions. “We are well aligned with the vision of United Nations to offer sustainable solutions, the ‘Farm to fork’ initiative and the reduction of potentially hazardous products,” according Tyrrel Chisenga, Global Crop Projects and Process Lead. “Because for us it’s always Earth day.”

“We prioritize the use of sustainable inputs for the development and delivery of high performing plant varieties. With crop performance being under pressure due to climate change and regulatory evolutions, we are investing in creating value for growers for improved crop resilience. Hazera focuses on the sustainable use of plant protection products and is an active member of trade associations that provide knowledge and recommendations for legislation such as Euroseeds (European), Plantum (Netherlands), UFS (France), BDP (Germany), and International Seed Health Initiative (ISHI) just to mention a few.”

Research
The teams at Hazera do not reach their goals alone. They often engage various universities and research institutes to help. Tyrrel: “Take for example the Academic and Consultancy Training (ACT) projects from Wageningen University (WUR). These allow us to get input on how to approach and manage the change in the regulations around the use of plant protection products without compromising on quality and compliance. The result of these projects was a well summarized approach by the students of the Wageningen Academic Consultancy Training group. To be compliant enables us to retain our freedom to operate.”

Hazera is also one of the pioneer companies to take part in the WUR MSc programmes ‘Sustainable Business and Innovation’. It is through such an active participation in academia and business operations  that Hazera Seeds aspires to excel in sustainable solutions.

Collaborative research through Plantum
Hazera has close connections with other companies united in Plantum. “We use this to learn from each other”, says Tyrrel. “We are not hesitant to invite others into our facilities and see how we approach safety and invest in to excel in our activities. Always improving the foundations and innovations of our facilities will keep Hazera in the global top for years to come.”

Want to know more?

Do you want to know more about our sustainable solutions? Follow us on our social media channels to stay connected with Hazera. If you have any questions left, don’t hesitate to ask them via our contact page!

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Hazera’s global approach towards the ToBRFV virus: local teams and growers the key to success

Posted on Apr 27, 2023

Hazera’s global approach towards the ToBRFV virus: local teams and growers the key to success

Recently, Hazera successfully launched tomato varieties for the Mexican market that are resistant to the ToBRFV-virus. But the virus extends much further than just Mexcio, as it affects growers worldwide. We take a look at the broader picture with Alejandro Szechtman, Portfolio marketing director of Tomato’s at Hazera. He talks us through Hazera’s worldwide approach towards the ToBRFV virus, the development of resistant tomato varieties and perspectives for the future. “We have a quality-first policy: a variety is only launched if we are sure it performs well both in resistance as in product quality.”

As portfolio marketing director of tomato’s, Alejandro knows that each market around the world has it’s own issues. In case of the ToBRFV virus, this is no different. So how do you come to understand a virus that provides growers in different areas with different challenges? Alejandro: “We have a very close relationship with our growers, but also retailers and consumers, in each market. This allows us to understand their needs and problems. When ToBRFV hit, we quickly understood it would be a major problem for our growers.” As part of the Limagrain Group, Hazera started to invest in and develop what the growers needed to fight the virus: Tomato varieties that provide good resistance to the virus, but also excellent economic performance.

Common efforts
According to Alejandro, the close collaboration between local teams and the globally working marketing team is vital in developing these resistant varieties. “It’s a common effort between different disciplines within the company. We have R&D which includes breeders and genetics developing the products, the marketing department delivering these products to the markets and the local product development teams who test the varieties in each market. They have the best knowledge of their own market and the challenges that come with it”. The marketing division oversees the global view, and forms the bridge between all different functions. By collecting all data from local teams, the marketing division is able to decide which varieties are ready to be launched commercially.

The process towards this commercial launch is very thorough and all-embracing. “It’s a constant process”, says Alejandro. “We look at the challenges growers are facing now, but also at the ones they will face in the future”. So what does this look like on a daily basis? “trials, trials and more trials. The process of developing a new variety takes several years. We make a massive effort to conform each variety to the market it is destined for. The goal is always the same: big, round and red tomato’s that aren’t affected by the virus. But different conditions take different solutions to get to the same goal.” Alejandro emphasizes that this process would not be possible without working very closely with local growers.

Launches in different markets
Globally, Hazera has been seeing more and more results of commercially launched varieties with ToBRFV-resistance. “Recently, we had a successful launch of the Canelo-variety in Mexico”, says Alejandro. “We started working on that variety from scratch in 2015. This variety was ready for commercialization in 7 years, which is quite an efficient process.” But Mexico isn’t the only success story. Alejandro: “ We have already launched ToBRFV-resistant varieties in Italy, with Spain and Greece following soon. We are developing and launching additional varieties and typologies for various markets, always looking for the aspects that make our variety perform well both economically and in resistance. The competition isn’t always able to provide both, but for us they are the benchmark for releasing a new variety.”

Always working on the future
Last, Alejandro talks about Hazera’s future-oriented policy. “We continuously monitor the situations and developments in every market, so we can be ready to provide our customers with solutions when facing new situations. Wherever needed, whenever needed. We feel confident that we can provide our growers and customers with the solutions that are needed for the challenges in their specific market. Because we work closely with them, know what’s going on both locally and globally, and we’re constantly developing and testing new varieties. Like I always say; at Hazera we don’t provide varieties, we provide solutions.”

Meet us at the Global tomato congress in Rotterdam! We are happy to meet you.

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Continuous improvement keeps Hazera Seeds in the global top

Posted on Apr 10, 2023

Hazera is committed to developing high-quality seeds that allow communities to flourish. To do that, Hazera focuses on continually improving its operational excellence in research, production, processing and quality for both customers and employees. “We deliver the best to our customers, and we want to keep it that way”, says Tyrrel Chisenga, Seed technologist. “We put in a lot of effort, but there is always room for improvement.”

“We breed for new varieties, and multiply seeds for growers and farmers alike”, Tyrrel explains. “After production, we perform extensive quality control tests to confirm that our seeds meet the commercial quality standards. Based on the various tests that we execute, we initiate processing activities to ensure that we deliver quality. We also take care of physiological enhancement to ensure seedling vigour and establishment even under sub-optimal conditions. Our efforts are to make sure the seeds that our farmers sow and nurture into a crop, grow and eventually end up as delicious vegetables in supermarkets across the world.”

Quality control and Seed technology
Quality control and Seed technology are an indispensable component for Hazera when it comes to making sure we deliver the best quality. “Nature comes with its challenges and when we encounter challenges that may compromise the final product quality after production we initiate research into the causes and solutions”, says Tyrrel. “Such research may encompass  physiological, physical, health, genetic aspects of the seeds or efficiency of processes. Everything we do is to ensure optimum quality for our customers.”

On top of the game
Even though Hazera adheres to the commercial quality standards and guarantees quality, there is always room for improvement, Tyrrel finds. Hazera invests in continually improving seed quality. “These investments include machinery for seed enhancement, automation of processes and the use of imaging systems for better inline decision making. Additionally, there are improved protocols with reduced lead times. We introduced the Lean management system in our processing plants. We created a work environment that allows the smooth and fast flow of processes and at the same time reduces work load. This allows us to cater to the needs of our customers in a brief period.”

For Hazera, its employees are on the same pedestal as the customers. Tyrrel: “The most important thing for the welfare of our employees is to make sure that their work remains interesting and safe. That is why we made a new tomato pelleting formulation that is safer for our employees to apply. It also results in improved sowability and seedling performance.”

Want to know more?

Follow us on our social media channels to stay connected with Hazera and our continuous improvement! If you have any questions left, don’t hesitate to ask them via our contact page!

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