31-07-2025
Eib to Fund Development of Disease Resilient Potato Varieties
Dutch biotechnology company, Solynta, is being funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop new potato varieties with higher levels of disease resistance.
The EIB has signed a €20 million venture debt financing agreement with the business to accelerate this process.
Significantly, Solynta will use the EIB support for its research into the use of true potato seeds instead of traditional tubers for cultivation.
True potato seeds, unlike larger and heavier tubers, do not spoil during transportation and long-term storage for the next crop season, thereby boosting the chances of a successful harvest and enhancing global food security.
Using true potato seeds as an alternative to tubers for cultivation has the potential to improve the economics of potato production.
Solynta's hybrid breeding method, which excludes genetically modified organisms, can adapt potato characteristics relatively quickly to different needs, including resistance to diseases such as late blight and adaptation to climate change.
The EIB backing for Solynta takes the form of venture debt and is supported under the European Commission's InvestEU programme.
EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti said: '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.
'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.'
Solynta chief executive officer, Peter Poortinga, said: 'With this significant contribution from the EIB, we are well positioned to meet growing demand for new, robust potato varieties.
'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."
Klasja van de Ridder, head of the Representation of the European Commission in The Netherlands, added: 'Food security is a key element of the new Vision on Agriculture and Food of the European Commission.
"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.'
