The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Global giants focus on new hybrid wheat
RAGT and Bayer are to collaborate on producing new high potential, state-of-the-art hybrid wheat varieties for European farmers.
The two companies say their aim is to enhance sustainable agricultural practices and they will pool their strengths by combining access to leading soft wheat genetics with the latest breeding methods, high-performing seed production systems and advanced digital solutions.
Wheat accounts for 25 million hectares in the UK and the EU and is the most widely grown crop in the world. The companies claim securing harvests through hybrid production will help increase yields and the robustness of the crop to help feed a growing global population.
Bayer’s crop science head of research and development, Bob Reiter, said: “Hybrid wheat offers farmers the opportunity to meet the challenges of climate change while achieving higher productivity in sustainable cropping systems.
“We are delighted to partner with RAGT to bring wheat farmers new solutions that support their efforts to produce a quality wheat crop.”
RAGT Semences general manager Laurent Guerreiro described the collaboration as a turning point for farmers.
“RAGT has continuously pursued a sustainable agriculture approach. This agreement, which aims to provide improved wheat and new cultivation practices, will enable us to support farmers even better,” he said.
“We are in line with the needs of an evolving agriculture sector. These innovations will enable meeting the needs of different types of agriculture.”
Bayer, a multinational which employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 41.4 billion euros in 2020, will provide the expertise in wheat crop protection, seed production systems and digital solutions.
RAGT Semences is one of Europe’s leading cereal seed companies and invests nearly 15% of its turnover in its research subsidiary and its 18 research stations around the world. It has customers in 50 countries.