Rijk Zwaan, an international fruit and vegetable breeding company, is celebrating its first centenary. Since its foundation in 1924, Rijk Zwaan has grown into a global player active in more than 100 countries. The centenary celebrations kicked off on 1 July, the exact date that the company was originally founded.

We want to help growers get the best out of our varieties: to maximize their yield and achieve the highest quality. One important technique used is called ‘grafting’: a shoot from one plant cultivar is grafted onto the root system, or ‘rootstock’, of another. The result is a crop that has the best of both worlds.

Did you know that one third* of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted worldwide? Food waste is at the heart of many of the major problems the world is currently facing. In these uncertain times, it is important to get the basics right, be it through improved resilience a longer shelf life, or reliable yields.

Seeds are not only at the beginning of the food chain, they are also at the start of the farmer’s journey to a successful crop. We recognise our contribution to this journey and our responsibility for its success. That is why we never underestimate the importance of seed quality.

Rijk Zwaan Afrisem is breeding African Hot Peppers. The goal is to develop high yielding habanero varieties with improved resistance packages for better crop security. There is a strong focus on pungency but also on aroma, earliness and improved shelf life.

Rijk Zwaan highlights the importance of shared entrepreneurship in cucumber breeding with first video in it’s the future is Sky’ series

Holland Greentech, are official supplier of Rijk Zwaan seeds in Rwanda. Recently they organized an event to introduce Kazinga RZ F1, an African Eggplant hybrid variety.

Rijk Zwaan knows that sometimes extra support is needed to make a success of the crop. Our team is very proud to announce that the first Rijk Zwaan Learning course is now available online!

Holland Greentech (HGT) are Rijk Zwaan distributors in Rwanda. Recently they held a melon-tasting event as part of an effort to bring new crops to farmers in that country. Gilbert Tuyisenge from HGT Rwanda tells us more: “Rwandan farmers are moving forwards from subsistence agriculture to market oriented farming while adopting improved farming technologies such as greenhouses.”