20 Most Promising Young Plant Breeders in Europe
RÉMI OLLIVIER
Postdoctoral Researcher at Aarhus University, 
Denmark
Rémi Ollivier is a plant biologist 
working at the intersection 
of quantitative genetics 
and genomics at 
Aarhus University 
in Denmark. 
His research 
focuses on 
understanding 
the genetic 
basis of dis­
ease resistance 
in perennial 
ryegrass, with 
a particular 
emphasis on 
rust diseases 
that significantly 
impact crop performance 
and yield.
By applying advanced 
genomic approaches, Rémi works 
to identify key genetic regions associated with resistance 
traits, supporting the development of improved breeding 
strategies. His work contributes to accelerating breeding 
progress while helping reduce reliance on chemical crop 
protection, an increasingly important objective in modern 
agriculture.
Rémi represents a new generation of researchers who 
bridge fundamental science and applied plant breeding. 
He believes that integrating data driven methods and new 
genomic techniques will be essential to deliver faster, more 
precise and sustainable crop improvement. Through his 
work, he contributes to strengthening crop resilience and 
advancing innovation within the European seed sector.
BAPTISTE MOSSOTTI
Carrot Breeder for the Northern Europe Breeding 
Programme at Vilmorin-Mikado, France
Baptiste Mossotti is a carrot breeder at Vilmorin-Mikado in 
France, working within the Northern Europe breeding pro­
gramme to develop improved varieties for growers across 
diverse environments. He combines strong analytical skills 
with practical breeding insight, using biostatistics, large 
scale data management and modern genetic and genomic 
tools to support breeding decisions.
Known for his curiosity 
and collaborative approach, 
Baptiste brings a thought­
ful and forward looking 
perspective to 
plant breed­
ing. His work 
reflects a new 
generation of 
breeders who 
are comforta­
ble navigating 
both field based 
experimentation 
and increas­
ingly complex 
datasets.
Baptiste 
believes the role of 
the breeder will evolve 
significantly as breeding 
programmes rely more heavily 
on advanced data analysis, genomic information and high 
throughput phenotyping technologies. At the same time, 
he stresses that field evaluation will remain essential. As 
climate change increases abiotic stresses and disease 
pressures while chemical control options decline, breeders 
must combine predictive tools with real world observation to 
deliver resilient and productive crop varieties.
16  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE  I  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | MAY 2026

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