Solynta’s true potato seeds are lightweight, disease-free, and transportable, it recently told AgTechNavigator, offering an alternative to bulky tubers that spoil easily. They are ideal for global deployment, especially in climate-stressed regions – but regulatory bottlenecks are proving a bottleneck.
The EIB loan will accelerate the development of potato varieties with enhanced resistance to disease and resilience to climate change, Solynta said.
The seeds have already demonstrated 3-4x yield increases (compared to local varieties) in trials in Kenya and require “far” fewer inputs. It will use the EIB support for more research into the use of true potato seeds instead of traditional tubers for cultivation.
“With this significant contribution from the EIB, we are well positioned to meet growing demand for new, robust potato varieties,” said Solynta’s chief executive officer Peter Poortinga.
“Potato growers around the world need access to disease-free starting material with strong resistance against diseases like late blight. With our new potato varieties, propagated via true seeds instead of the traditional tubers, we bring new varieties to the market that require fewer chemicals for crop protection and help improve global food security, particularly for local communities.”
A ‘win-win’ for the EIB
The EIB called the deal a “win-win” for climate action and European innovation scaling, citing the importance of staple crop adaptation amid climate volatility
“Climate action and adaptation are at the heart of our financing, as is the successful scaling up of innovative European companies so that they grow and thrive. The Solynta operation is a win-win in that sense,” said EIB vice president Gelsomina Vigliotti. “Potatoes are a food staple around the world, making sure that they can grow in increasingly difficult climates and with higher chances of a good yield is extremely important.”
The EIB backing for Solynta takes the form of venture debt and is supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU programme.
Klasja van de Ridder, head of the representation of the European Commission in the Netherlands, added: “Food security is a key element of the European Commission’s new vision on agriculture and food. The loss of yield due to climate change is a threat to the EU and the rest of world. Development of more resilient potato seeds will strengthen global food security. The Commission supports this initiative under InvestEU, as it contributes to the EU ‘s priority for long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the farming sector and welcomes the cooperation with Solynta and the EIB.”
