OCTOBER 2026  |  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE   I   7
SEED WORLD EUROPE (SWE): LOOKING THREE 
TO FIVE YEARS AHEAD, WHAT ARE THE MAIN 
PRIORITIES FOR CORTEVA’S SAT BUSINESS? WHAT 
ARE CUSTOMERS ASKING FOR?
Leonardo Costa (LC): Our purpose, regardless of the time hori­
zon, is to provide customers with the solutions and services that 
give them the confidence to decide. Seed companies, and the farm­
ers they serve, are constantly making difficult choices under high 
regulatory and agronomic pressure, and we want Seed Applied 
Technologies to be the trusted expert partner that makes those 
decisions easier and more certain.
To deliver on this promise, we’re focused on three critical pri­
orities. First, innovation. We want a pipeline of next generation 
chemistry and biologicals that protect the seed’s genetic potential 
from day one and keep performing as the toolbox available to farm­
ers continues to shrink. Second, broader crop coverage, extending 
on seed protection into new crops through our own development 
and strategic partnerships. Third, sustainability and resistance man­
agement, with cleaner profiles and different modes of action built 
in from the start.
A key part of this is our commitment to service and application 
excellence, because how a treatment is applied can be just as impor­
tant as the product itself. Customers are looking for solutions that 
perform consistently, meet evolving regulatory requirements, are 
easy and safe to use, and come with the support of a partner they 
can rely on. That is what we mean when we say this is where seeds 
grow stronger, crops grow stronger, partnerships grow stronger and 
businesses grow stronger.
experience in Italy demonstrating the value it brings to growers. As 
European agriculture continues to evolve, sustainable innovations 
such as biological seed treatments and microplastic-free formula­
tions will play an increasingly important role. One key lesson from 
Ecovelex is that breakthrough technologies require transparent 
communication, robust field evidence, realistic expectation-setting, 
and ongoing technical support.
This is precisely what the Seed Applied Technologies group at 
Corteva is committed to delivering. With Ecovelex, we are showing 
that we can lead the way in this emerging segment through knowl­
edge sharing and authenticity, while continuing to build trust with 
our partners.
SWE: LAUNCHER FOR SUNFLOWER AND 
DEMOPHON FOR CEREALS ARE AMONG THE 
PRODUCTS COMING THROUGH THE PIPELINE. 
WHAT PROBLEMS ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE 
WITH THEM, AND WHAT WILL MAKE THEM 
DIFFERENT?
LC: Both products are intended to close existing gaps where the 
market currently lacks confidence. As part of our focus on resistance 
management, Launcher has been designed as a partner product to 
be used in combination with Lumisena to protect early season sun­
flower from downy mildew, bringing consistency and helping this 
high-value crop continue to thrive.
For cereals, and soon corn, Demophon targets early season 
challenges such as disease pressure and crop establishment. On 
top of that, it addresses resistance management concerns through 
complementary modes of action. This next generation tool is well 
suited to high-volume crops like cereals, delivering a high quality 
application experience and broad-spectrum protection with a com­
bination of two active ingredients that can easily be combined with 
other solutions on the market.
With important active ingredients approaching withdrawal, 
Demophon is positioned to fill the gap where farmers and seed 
companies need support the most.
SWE: SEED APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES IS 
INTRODUCING A REDESIGNED BRAND AND 
NEW MESSAGING AT EUROSEEDS. WHY NOW, 
AND WHAT DO YOU WANT CUSTOMERS TO 
UNDERSTAND ABOUT SAT?
LC: The new chapter for Corteva has provided us with the perfect 
moment, and Euroseeds is the perfect stage to share our new brand. 
But the truth is simpler than that. This isn’t really a rebranding. It’s 
the formalisation of who we are. We are giving a clearer voice to 
what has been at the core of SAT from the beginning.
What our brand really does is reflect our strategy, our values 
and our ambitions more clearly than before. Our strategy is simple: 
look at the business through our customers’ eyes, build the internal 
capabilities needed to meet those demands, and keep improving 
season after season. That is exactly what “grow stronger” means. It’s 
not just a slogan. It’s how we work and where we want to take this 
business together with our customers.
What we’d like the seed sector to take away is that SAT is more 
than a supplier of seed treatments. We truly want to be the best 
business partner for our customers. This is what you can expect from 
us as a company, partner, supplier and service provider: expertise 
you can rely on, delivered with trust, always on your side.
SWE: WHAT DOES THAT STRATEGY MEAN IN 
PRACTICE FOR THE WAY SAT WORKS WITH 
CUSTOMERS? HOW DO YOU WANT THE BUSINESS 
TO STAND APART FROM COMPETITORS?
“Customers don’t simply 
buy an active ingredient. 
They buy confidence.”
SWE: LUMIPOSA AND ECOVELEX ARE AT 
DIFFERENT STAGES IN THE MARKET. WHAT HAVE 
YOU LEARNT FROM THE TWO PRODUCTS, AND 
WHERE DO YOU SEE THEIR GREATEST POTENTIAL?
LC: Both products taught us an important lesson: customers don’t 
simply buy an active ingredient. They buy confidence, and confi­
dence is earned through partnership and hard work.
As a modern insecticide seed treatment, delivering reliable 
early season protection against multiple pests in oilseed rape and 
corn, Lumiposa has established itself as both a genuine alternative 
to neonicotinoids and a complementary partner in markets where 
they remain available. With the support of our field experts and 
seed sector partners, we’ve seen adoption accelerate as growers gain 
confidence in the product’s performance. The greatest potential 
for Lumiposa remains in markets seeking innovative solutions to 
manage moderate to high pest pressure while maintaining produc­
tivity and flexibility.
In the case of Ecovelex, our next generation bird repellent seed 
treatment for corn, we already have two seasons of commercial scale 

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