Joint presentation by the Agrico Group during Potato Europe

On September 3 and 4, Agrico, Semagri, and BioSelect jointly exhibited at Potato Europe. Managing Director Mark Zuidhof looks back on the international potato trade fair with a positive feeling.

Both days were busy at the exhibition and at the joint Agrico stand. Mark: “Many of our members visited our stand. We also welcomed many of the Agrico group's international customers to our stand. We had many conversations about the changing sentiment in the potato market. Opinions sometimes differed, but the conclusion was that there is confidence in the market in the long term. That's good news.”
This year, Agrico shared a stand with our brands BioSelect and Semagri for the first time. And that worked out well, according to Mark. “The visibility of Semagri and BioSelect certainly added value with their own range of varieties. This generated good discussions with customers from these specific segments.” The demo fields with many varieties from Agrico, Semagri, and BioSelect were located opposite the stand. “This allowed us to present our varieties and our companies well to the international potato sector.”

Robust varieties took center stage at an organic demonstration field. Visitors were able to view various varieties, including the Agrico varieties Alouette, Twister, Twinner, Carolus, Jacky, and Levante, also known as the Next Generation varieties. Potato specialist Jacob Eising emphasized the importance of developing multiple resistance to Late blight at this demonstration field. “More aggressive strains of Late Blight are emerging, and they are appearing earlier and earlier in the season. In addition, not all crop protection products are effective against this fungus anymore. That is why we need to ensure stacked resistance in potatoes.”

Agrico's Next Generation varieties have natural protection against Late Blight. Although the current Next Generation varieties have a single gene for improved resistance to Late Blight, Agrico expects to be able to add even more sustainable varieties with resistance to Late Blight to its range in the coming years. A first variety with two resistance genes has been submitted for registration. The launch of varieties with three resistance genes is also getting closer.

Cooking with Alouette
In one of the halls, chef Sharon de Miranda gave a cooking demonstration. Among other things, she prepared a soup using the Agrico variety Alouette. While cooking, Jan van Hoogen, potato ambassador and former director of Agrico, outlined the development of agriculture and specifically the potato sector in the Netherlands. He also praised the rapid development of technology and knowledge within the sector. “We went from selecting by hand to the selection cart and now to the AI-driven selection machine. These developments are incredible.”

Like Eising, Van Hoogen sees Late Blight as the biggest challenge for potato cultivation. “If you develop the best variety for that, you're the winner.”

Record number of visitors
Potato Europe attracted a record number of visitors this year: 17,268 visitors from 107 countries. Potato Europe is held alternately in four countries. This year, the Netherlands was the host country, and next year it will be Germany's turn again. Potato Europe will then be held on September 9 and 10.