Growth through Collaboration Potato World vision In my daily job, I work both at the beginning and at the end of the chain. In that capacity, I hear and read about both sides of the people’s concerns about meagre earnings and poorly-shared margins. This discussion has not gone away with the credit crunch; indeed, it has become worse. There are fewer and fewer parties remaining now. Who can keep up this race and should we keep hoping for a winner? Everyone participating in this form of existence will sooner or later be faced with the following question: how long will I be able to continue? And that is also the problem. We have manoeuvred ourselves into a situation in which, for many, it has become impossible to say “no”. And this is taken advantage of – on economic grounds – by another party within the chain. When the limits of growth have been reached, we will see a movement towards cost price control as a basic condition. Important issues include added value, direction and leadership. Cost price control cannot be achieved merely by focusing on individual scale expansion, but also by joining forces. Added to that, we need to consider the following: are supermarkets chasing the cheapest potatoes, or do they just want to be certain that the competition is not cheaper and that quantities and quality are guaranteed? Generally speaking, I believe the latter is true and this thought brings to light a form of collaboration, but then vertically within the chain. Are you ready for that? Do you, in fact, trust the other parties within the chain? The process entirely depends on trust. So we must become more transparent, more concrete and more creative. But above all, we need to decide what it is we wish to be good at. ’Growth through Collaboration’ is therefore the theme of the 2010 Potato Demonstration Day. By wanting to connect to the other parties in the chain, we can build on new concepts. If the consumer also feels this is an added value, there will be more margin to share. Just make sure that you are part of it all. PW-ACTUA New manager for Breeders Trust Breeders Trust is an organisation consisting of 5 potato breeding companies set up to combat the illegal propagation of seed potatoes from protected varieties. The departure of the manager of Breeders Trust resulted in a vacancy this summer. As from 1 September, the organisation has a new manager: Mr Leon Mol. Leon Mol has ample experience in breeding potatoes and in protecting potato varieties all over the world. He will focus on providing information to relevant parties on existing legislation and, if necessary, report illegal practices to the appropriate authorities. The 5 participating potato breeding companies assembled in the Breeders Trust are: C. Meijer, Solana, Europlant, Agrico and HZPC. Other potato breeding companies can also join this organisation. Breeders Trust has decided to pay extra attention to Belgium. Because Belgium has not yet brought its legislation into line with EU legislation, farmers in this country are uncertain about the rules regarding the propagation of seed potatoes. A second area of focus is the Czech Republic and SlovaKia. The marketing of uncertified seed in these countries is increasingly causing problems. Breeders invest a great deal of money in researching new varieties. Developing new varieties is a costly business. It is important that new varieties are developed in order to improve the rates of return for potato growers and the processing industry. In order to continue this important work, breeders want to ensure that everyone in Europe who needs to pay in accordance with current legislation actually does so. Leon Mol combats the illegal propagation of seed from protected varieties. Paulies Melissant Potato Demonstration Day organisation Potato World 2010 • number 2 7 Pagina 6
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