C orteva’s newly independent spin-off, Vylor, inherits more than a century of seed expertise, established brands includ ing Pioneer®, a leading global R&D footprint and a pipeline spanning conventional breeding, gene editing and opportunities beyond its traditional crop portfolio. The question now is: what will Vylor do with it? For Jean-Philippe Riffat, President, EMEA- APAC, Vylor, the company’s independence brings opportunity but also a different kind of pressure. With the company focused entirely on seed and genetics, there is greater freedom to decide where to invest, where to partner and where to move faster. Seed and genetics no longer sit within a broader agricultural portfolio; they are the portfolio. Seed World sat down with Riffat to talk about what it means to be handed that opportunity and the company he wants Vylor to become. SW: YOU’VE SPENT MONTHS BUILDING TOWARD THIS LAUNCH. WHAT HAS IT ACTUALLY FELT LIKE FROM THE INSIDE? JPR: I’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years, and seed has always felt like a very emotional part of our business. Being given the responsibility to launch Vylor across a large region like EMEA and APAC is very exciting. You get to do what you love, and people come to you and say, “This is a great project. Make it even greater.” I feel the same energy in the team. We are working with a lot of people who have long seed experience, a lot of seed business acumen, as well as some who bring fresh perspective. Suddenly we are telling them: what you love, you’re going to have the opportunity to expand it even more and make it more visible to the rest of the world. You get to write that story. BUILDING VYLOR: AN INSIDE CONVERSATION ON WHAT COMES NEXT Jean-Philippe Riffat, President, EMEA-APAC, Vylor JEAN-PHILIPPE RIFFAT, PRESIDENT, EMEA-APAC, VYLOR, ON THE EXPERIENCE OF BUILDING SOMETHING NEW, THE OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD, AND WHAT HE HOPES TO BE ABLE TO SAY ABOUT VYLOR FIVE YEARS FROM NOW. INTERVIEW BY MADELEINE BAERG, GENERAL MANAGER & EVP, OPERATIONS 42 I SEED WORLD EUROPE I SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | OCTOBER 2026
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