“Amazing, I come here every year, and each time there are new machines on exhibit,” says one of the trade event’s visitors.
The sixth edition of Seed Meets Technology in Zwaagdijk, The Netherlands can look back at another successful event. The event drew 1700 visitors. And who thought this was mainly a Dutch event, couldn’t be more wrong! A whopping 43% of the visitors came from outside The Netherlands, from 66 countries to be precise. With over 60 companies showcasing their latest developments, there was no shortage of innovation. Visitors were greeted with the newest and brightest of developments across the board.
The unique formula of presenting new technology in the form of an exhibition and new varieties in trial fields and greenhouse, alongside an informative programme of several symposia and lectures makes this a highly attractive event, to all of the seed business, large and small.
Highlight
This year’s highlight was the symposium ‘Crop protection 2030: what does it mean for seeds?’ Speakers from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture and from companies Bejo, Incotec and Artemis provided their take on what this policy measure means for their work. The Ministry urged the private seed sector to come up with more pest/disease resistant varieties, precision tools and co-finance research. Private sector wanted more freedom to operate in terms of gene-editing, and greater international alignment in seed related regulations. For those of you who missed it, all presentations are available on the SMT website!
Seed companies
One of this year’s newcomers was Dutch Valley, a group of companies active in the field of hardware, software, reagents, laboratory services and bioinformatics. Their lecture ‘Advanced technologies in genomics for plant breeding’ sparked a lot of attention and discussion.
The demo fields are each year a beautiful sight! New varieties from dozens of crops were on show. Gautier Semences participated this year for the first time. The French grower’s main crop is lettuce, and many of its new varieties were demonstrated, grown both hydroponically and out in the open field.
2020 Edition
Seed Meets Technology takes place every year in Week 39. So, if there is one take home message, we’d like you to remember, it’s this: Week 39! Mark this week in your agenda! Next year’s edition of Seed Meets Technology will take place in week 39, from 22 to 24 September 2020. You can already register for a stand or a demo field via info@seedmeetstechnology.com.
We look forward to seeing you all next year. And don’t forget: Week 39!
