Thursday 6 November saw the opening of Agrico’s annual presentation of varieties and seedlings at its propagation & research facility Agrico Research in the Dutch town of Bant.

The show, which was also open on Friday 8 November, attracted many interested visitors from within and outside the Netherlands.

During the opening day Agrico’s managing director Jan van Hoogen presented Constance, the latest variety of table potatoes that has already become very popular and has recently been included in the Dutch list of varieties.

This year the theme of Agrico’s varieties show was Slovenia – an interesting market for Agrico. It is the home base of Interseme, one of Agrico’s subsidiaries. In Slovenia Agrico introduces varieties that growers sell directly to consumers or supermarkets. The many different microclimates in that country enable Agrico to introduce a wide diversity of varieties there.

At the show the focus was on the recently introduced varieties Ranomi and Esmee, which are very popular in Slovenia. Ranomi is particularly suitable for Eastern Europe, where it yields early crops of long, oval potatoes with a beautifully smooth skin. Esmee is also an early variety, producing potatoes with a dark red skin, a perfectly oval shape and an excellent flavour.

Innovation is one of Agrico’s key concerns, prompting the company to breed new varieties that meet the requirements of growers and consumers all over the world. During the show’s opening Agrico’s managing director Jan van Hoogen presented the promising new variety Constance, which has been approved for inclusion in the Dutch list of varieties. Constance was bred by Mr J.L. Spijkman from Hijken, who was awarded the usual Agrico figurine for his achievement.
 

Constance has already become very popular in many markets. As far as the British market is concerned, its greatest potential is in the Baker segment. In other countries it is greatly appreciated as a table variety. All countries love the potato’s attractive skin, good yields and excellent consumption quality.
 Another example of Agrico’s efforts in the field of innovation is the recently launched Agro Food Cluster. This cluster, of which Agrico is one of the initiators and partners, aims to spread knowledge and promote innovation and marketing & business development. One of the ways in which it hopes to achieve these aims is by promoting the Dutch town of Emmeloord as World Potato City.

Agrico’s annual varieties show is an important event in this context too.