Rijk Zwaan joins forces in new R&D consortium

Rijk Zwaan will be able to expand its research activities as one of the partners of the Crops of the Future Collaborative. This new public-private consortium is convened by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR, located in the USA) and has research on leafy vegetables as one of its points of attention.


Besides FFAR and Rijk Zwaan, the founding partners of the Crops of the Future Collaborative are Bayer, Biogemma, KWS, FAPESP, Precision PlantSciences and CIMMYT. Bringing together these leading companies and research organizations, the consortium partners will leverage their knowledge, capabilities and financial resources. This will expand their scientific understanding of the genes and traits that give rise to characteristics that crops will need to adapt to changing environments.

The consortium will initiate focussed research projects at universities in the USA. The initial commitment of FFAR to the activities of this consortium is $10 million. The participating partners to a project will provide a financial as well as an in-kind contribution. Next to leafy vegetables, the consortium will initially focus on maize, wheat and small grains.

Combining strengths

Rijk Zwaan is proud to be one of the founding partners. “Our mission is to actively contribute to the world’s food supply and stimulate vegetable consumption. Joining the Crops of the Future Collaborative, with leafy vegetables as one of the focus crops, can help us achieve this mission,” says Kees Reinink, Managing Director of Rijk Zwaan. “Combining our strengths with partners in R&D is an important part of our strategy. Together, we can accelerate the further development of better vegetables.”