b'EDITORS MESSAGEFORGET THE AVENGERS!With these large numbers of newalso created an additional 70,000 jobs in varieties coming to Europe every year,the arable sector.you may wonder how much work it actu- And in 2022, Noleppa wrote that due ally takes to create a new plant variety?to plant breeding in major arable crops in Well, it depends a little bit on the cropthe EU over the past two decades, yields the plant breeder is working on, but onper hectare as well as arable production average it takes between 8 and 12 yearshave increased with a little over 1 per to create a new plant variety. However,cent per year. On average, crop produc-and heres the risky part of the whole pro- tion would have been over 20 per cent cess, when plant breeders embark on thislower in 2020 without genetic improve-long process of creating a new variety,ments since the turn of the millennium. they dont know yet what consumers willPlant breeding also improves the EU agri-desire in 8-12 years from now. Consumerscultural net trade balance. Without plant wishes change frequently and it seemsbreeding progress in the past 20 years, more frequently than in the past. Notthe EU would have become a net importer only does the product have to taste good,of all major arable crops in 2020, includ-look good, be reasonably priced, but iting wheat and other cereals.also must be produced sustainably. ThisSo, if youre looking for modern day means that preferably and if at all feasible,superheroes, just look at your plates, the crop is produced with as little cropand realize the ongoing heroic work of protection products as possible, whilethe plant breeders of this planet, not just Marcel Bruins respecting the environment in terms ofEurope, but all around the globe. Further soil, water and biodiversity. Adding thisdown in this issue, you will find an article all up tells us that the investments thatabout some of those plant breeders that I s the climate changing, with lessplant breeders are making are consider- made a bigger than life contribution to rain in your region? Tell it to theable, upfront, and high risk. the world. Take a look at the front cover plant breeders so they can select forIve written about this before, butand try to guess their names. And for the more drought tolerance! Are you seeingI feel we cant stress this enough: planthard-core history buffs, try to guess their different pests and diseases that neverbreeding is providing enormous benefitscountries and time period they lived in.appeared before in your region? Tell itinto the agricultural chain, and to soci- Im going to leave you with a slight to the plant breeders so they can selectety at large. Several research papers haveadaptation of a song that keeps humming for more disease resistances in the newinvestigated specifically this aspect. Forin my head: varieties. Is an evil villain closing yourexample, Lence et al in 2009 concludedIf theres something strange gas supply, and you desperately needthat farmers get a USD $6 benefit forIn your own corn fieldmore energy? Tell it to the plant breeders,each USD $1 spent on private sectorWho you gonna call?so they can breed varieties better suitedresearch. And DTZ in 2010 took it a bitPLANT BREEDERS!to produce biogas. broader and found out that for each 1 You catch my drift: plant breedersinvested in plant breeding there is 40If your crops wont groware cranking out many new plant varie- in added value across the wider econ- And it dont look goodties, that help us with the immense chal- omy (considering higher yields & inputWho you gonna call?lenges we must overcome. And crankingsavings at farm level). A 2016 study byPLANT BREEDERS!it they are: the annual number of newHFFA showed that since 2000, for EU varieties arriving on our European platesarable farming, genetic crop improve- If youre seeing bugsover the past few years is around 3,500ments generated an additional socialRunning through your field new plant varieties. That is almost 10 newwelfare gain of 9 billionand added overWho you gonna call?plant varieties per day that are added to14 billionto the EU GDP. Plant breedingPLANT BREEDERS!the toolbox of farmers to grow and on theprovided secure employment and an aver-plates for consumers to enjoy. TEN newage increase of income of 7000which isMarcel Bruinsvarieties per day! I find those numbers30% of the annual income of EU arableeditorial director, European Seedastounding.farmer. Oh, almost forgot, plant breedingmbruins@seedworldgroup.com4IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'