Pioneering today
Rijk Zwaan is now active in many parts of the world. Yet we continue to pioneer in all those countries, now with new techniques and new ideas.
A new breeding location inthe tropics
Brazil
Forty hectares of land in Brazil have been transformed in recent years into a modern, future-proof open-field breeding location. At this location, we can start developing new varieties for tropical areas this year. If you want to develop innovative varieties that do well in a tropical area, you must select varieties in that area that have a tolerance for fungi, bacteria, viruses and tropical rain showers.
E-learning through social media
China
China has many small-scale vegetable growers. In order to properly support every grower, we found that there was a need for an e-learning platform. To increase the chance of success, we chose a different communication channel than usual at Rijk Zwaan. The normal e-learning website wouldn’t have reached enough growers. This is because the smaller growers in China often just have a smartphone and not a computer. We chose the social media channel WeChat. WeChat combines the functions of WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook. As many as 1.2 billion Chinese people use it. Rijk Zwaan China posts two videos every week. There is also a live stream with Product Specialist Shujie Qi, better known as ‘Teacher Qi’ about sweet pepper and pepper cultivation. His live broadcast is called RijkyPepper, or Xiaorui Jujiao in Chinese. Hundreds of Chinese pepper and sweet pepper growers follow the broadcasts with great interest. Thanks to the success, there are now also broadcasts about cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach and celery. This is resulting in many satisfied customers, and everyone is a big fan of ‘Teacher Qi’!
