54  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE  I  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | OCTOBER 2026
PARTNER CONTENT
E
urope’s protein challenge has a 
notable soybean problem.
The EU produces most of its 
crude protein needs for food and feed 
from roughage, cereals, oilseeds other 
than soy, and dry pulses. Soybean looks 
very different: more than 90% of EU con­
sumption is supplied through imports.
That dependency is attracting atten­
tion as fertiliser costs remain exposed to 
geopolitical and energy-market volatil­
ity, with natural gas as a major input in 
nitrogen fertiliser production. Meanwhile, 
drought challenges established cropping 
systems, and EU policy looks for ways to 
strengthen domestic protein production. 
Soybean has a clear role here. As a 
legume, it can fix atmospheric nitrogen 
through its relationship with Bradyrhizobium 
bacteria, reducing its reliance on nitrogen 
fertiliser. Acreage is expanding in parts of 
Europe, but nowhere near enough to mean­
ingfully reduce import independence. 
Plant genetics determine whether 
varieties perform, however soybean 
also depends on a symbiosis with 
Bradyrhizobium bacteria that are not nat­
urally present in European soils and need 
to be introduced through inoculation. 
So how much does the bacterial side 
of the equation matter?
Seed World Europe spoke with 
Benjamin Laga, CEO of Protealis, about 
that challenge and why the company 
developed MagNfix™, a soybean inocu­
lant designed for pre-application to seed. 
It combines a Bradyrhizobium japonicum 
strain selected for European conditions 
with a formulation intended to keep bac­
teria viable on seed for up to 90 days 
before planting. 
GROWTH IN THE NORTH, 
RETREAT IN THE SOUTH
Laga notes soybean acreage growth in 
cooler northern regions alongside chal­
lenges farther south. “We’ve seen strong 
Are Plant Genetics Only Half of 
Europe’s Soybean Story?
PLANT GENETICS HAVE TRANSFORMED SOYBEAN’S POTENTIAL IN EUROPE. 
PROTEALIS BELIEVES ANOTHER SET OF GENETICS MAY HELP DETERMINE HOW FAR 
THE CROP CAN GO. BY: BURCIN DILCI, PHD
growth in Poland, northern France, and 
Germany: definitely moving the right 
way,” he says. “Unfortunately, the growth 
has declined in the south, mainly due 
to drought and irrigation problems. 
Considering the summer we have expe­
rienced, this year will probably be the 
pinnacle of that.” 
The result, he says, is that total EU 
soybean acreage has not dramatically 
changed. 
WHERE PLANT BREEDING HITS 
ITS LIMITS
Laga argues that breeding alone cannot 
overcome the barriers to expanding soy­
bean production. The first is economic, 
though he frames it as a temporary 
value chain problem: “Farmers don’t 
want to plant without having a place to 
sell; processors won’t invest without local 
farmers’ production.” As cultivation shifts 
north, the value chain follows, just more 
slowly than he’d like. However, he adds, 
starting an entirely new island of produc­
tion from scratch, away from the outlet, is 
challenging.  
The second limit is agronomic. “A 
good soybean field depends on good 
plant and bacterial genetics,” Laga says. 
That is why, he says, Protealis developed 
the inoculant MagNfix™, in parallel with 
its breeding programme. Plant breeding 
determines the genetic potential, while 
inoculation helps plants establish the 
nodulation required for nitrogen fixation. 
Inoculation’s importance is easy to 
overlook, since its effects begin below 
ground. Poor inoculation can result from 
timing, uneven application, declining bac­
terial viability or problems with water or 
mixing.
Benjamin Laga, CEO of Protealis

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