The market as the starting point
As the starting point for its breeding activities, Afrisem considers the wishes and demands of African vegetable growers, vegetable traders and consumers themselves. Growers require a high yield, resistance to pests and diseases, and germination vigour, for instance, while traders demand a long shelf-life after harvesting. Consumers, meanwhile, are concerned with the taste and appearance of the vegetables on offer.

Lengthy process
Developing a new variety is a lengthy process. Once it is clear which traits a new variety should have, a breeder starts looking for genetic material that can serve as starting point to develop lines and hybrids that can provide that combination of traits. While we use existing varieties as starting material for breeding, we also have enormous ‘seed archives’, also called ‘genebanks’  at our disposal. In most cases it will take between 6-12 years before an initial idea has evolved into a new vegetable variety for the consumer.