2019
On 20 September, the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kyiv hosted a press conference that was, without exaggeration, long-awaited. It was attended by Viktor Kravchenko, head of UNIVERSEED in Ukraine; Dmytro Kravchenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of LNZ Group; Andrii Poltavets, head of distribution at LNZ; and Claire Cowan and John Cowan, representatives of the Canadian breeding company NAPG (North American Plant Genetic). The event was dedicated to the presentation of the UNIVERSEED seed brand and the launch of its first hybrids on the Ukrainian market.
We have good reason to call the press conference at the Hyatt Regency long-awaited, as it marked the culmination of many years of painstaking work by the NAPG and LNZ Group teams. Over the past 5 years, hundreds of grain and silage corn hybrids, as well as soybean and sunflower of Canadian breeding, have been tested in various parts of Ukraine. In 2019 alone, more than 400 hybrids were trialled on Ukrainian land.
As a result, the UNIVERSEED line-up currently includes two types of corn: high-yielding grain hybrids and silage hybrids of the Leafy and Floury Leafy types, which are unique in Ukraine. At present, LNZ Group is ready to offer Ukrainian farmers 3 silage and 8 grain corn hybrids. Notably, this year UNIVERSEED grain hybrids were already grown in Ukraine on 18 thousand ha, and silage hybrids on 12 thousand ha.
«American breeding of corn and other crops is the world leader today. Ukrainian farmers readily grow these hybrids because they combine such traits as high productivity and stress resistance. At the same time, however, the cost of seed keeps rising. American genetics is becoming too expensive and now reaches 200-210 US dollars per seed unit. We began cooperating with an independent breeding centre in North America so that Ukrainian customers get a reasonable price for seed of the highest quality», — emphasized Viktor Kravchenko, head of UNIVERSEED in Ukraine.
North American Plant Genetic has been breeding a wide range of crops for several decades. The best global genetics and the latest technologies are used to create new hybrids, which is why the abbreviation NAPG enjoys a solid positive reputation in world plant breeding.
As the representatives of the Canadian breeding company noted, the launch of their hybrids on the Ukrainian market was prepared very carefully and became a kind of challenge. The point is that enormous preparatory work had to be done, testing various hybrids in all regions of Ukraine, in order to be able to offer the most effective solutions for every farmer.
«The Ukrainian market has huge potential. At the same time, every farmer strives to develop their farm and needs better technologies. At
LNZ Group they understand the market and are aware of farmers' needs, having the appropriate experience and knowledge for this», — noted Claire Cowan, CEO of NAPG.
In turn, LNZ Group representatives explained that UNIVERSEED hybrids were tested in the most diverse conditions and performed well.
«The conditions varied. For example, we grew our corn both in Ternopil region, where 900 mm of precipitation fell, and in Cherkasy region, where there was only 200 mm of precipitation», — said Viktor Kravchenko.
The company plans to produce up to 400 thousand seed units of UNIVERSEED hybrids in 4-5 years. Importantly, LNZ Group does not intend to rest on its laurels: it is testing soybean and sunflower in Ukrainian fields, and from next year – sorghum.
We would like to stress that LNZ Group has managed to bring together all the components of successful work on the seed market: the best global breeding, an affordable price of seed, confirmed results of hybrid trials in Ukrainian conditions, high-quality seed conditioning at its own seed plant and subsequent agronomic support. These are exactly the factors Ukrainian farmers pay attention to first of all.
After all, high-quality seed genetics must be accompanied by high-quality physical and biological characteristics of the seed. In addition, each hybrid must be grown using the appropriate technology under specific soil and climatic conditions. LNZ has all of this thanks to numerous trials and thorough preparation of UNIVERSEED seed for market launch.
We must state that the Ukrainian seed market has gained not just another strong player, but a seed producer that has set a new standard for a comprehensive customer offering. This means competition will increase, which will undoubtedly benefit farmers.
Vasyl CHERKAS, especially for the newspaper "Agrobusiness Today"
