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Bayer and Solynta have teamed up to bring true potato seeds to the Kenyan and Indian markets.

The partnership marks Bayer's initial venture into the global potato sector, which spans 20 million hectares worldwide.

In addition, the collaboration will leverage Solynta’s potato breeding expertise to develop robust new potato varieties suited for key growing regions. This innovation will enable planting from true seeds instead of tubers. Growers will need 25g of clean and disease-free true potato seeds per hectare, compared to the 2500 kgs of perishable seed tubers previously required.

Bayer will use its distribution channels to commercialise these varieties in Kenya and India, providing true seeds to even the most remote potato growers.

Smallholders in Kenya and India face a shortage of high-quality potato seeds with suitable genetics. In Kenya, where potatoes are the second staple crop, growers rely on a limited supply of often-diseased seed tubers. India, the world's second-largest potato market, has a high demand for robust, disease-resistant potato varieties. Solynta's true potato seeds will provide smallholder farmers in both regions with access to quality starting material, improving their crop yields and food security.

Growing potato crops from true potato seeds instead of seed tubers offers significant advantages, including disease-free seeds, long shelf life and lower transport and storage costs.

Frank Terhorst, head of strategy and sustainability at Bayer’s Crop Science Division, said: "We are excited to enter the collaboration with Solynta and to further support smallholder farmers. Seed innovation is one of our key focus areas. We expect these true potato seeds to have a positive impact on local communities and on food and nutritional security in Kenya and India.”

Inci Dannenberg, president of global vegetable seeds at Bayer, commented: “The addition of true potato seeds to our portfolio is a natural progression of the work our team continues to do to support smallholder growers and offer the latest innovations. We will utilise our already well-established distribution networks in India and Kenya to get true potato seeds into the hands of growers.”

Peter Poortinga, CEO of Solynta, pointed out: “Hybrid breeding is a proven technology in many existing food crops, which allows fast development of new varieties with desirable traits, such as disease resistances. As a company, we are delighted to join forces with Bayer on the introduction and distribution of our true potato seeds to these markets. This collaboration is a major step towards widespread commercial introduction of true potato seeds and the establishment of new, sustainable potato cropping systems.".

Joost van Regteren, chief commercial officer of Solynta, added: "We are focused on rapidly and broadly introducing true potato seeds, conducting field and commercial trials to demonstrate their effectiveness. We are thrilled to partner with Bayer for the further commercial roll-out in Kenya and India".

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