For more than 30 years, BreedWise has provided customized training and consultancy for breeding companies, propagators, plant breeders, and related institutions. From 1 November, the company's team, set up by Idy van Leeuwen, will be joined by Peter van Duin.
Peter will bring his broad experience to BreedWise in addition to his consultancy activities. A graduate of Wageningen University & Research, he has held various positions in breeding and operations in both the vegetable and ornamental sectors.
Idy herself graduated from the same university in 1980 in Plant Breeding, Genetics, Plant Pathology, and Statistics. Since 1992, she has been teaching and organizing courses for the plant breeding sector at home and abroad.
Peter van Duin and Idy van Leeuwen
Practical experience with large processes
"His vast practical experience in the plant breeding sector and associated network are a valuable addition to BreedWise," Idy shares about Peter's appointment. She explains: "Peter has a lot of practical experience and he is also used to managing large processes in breeding."
It is a valuable experience for the specialist company based in Geldrop. Idy keeps an office there, but she also travels a lot in the Netherlands, and beyond, on behalf of clients from the breeding world. With Peter's joining, he too can start providing consultancy and courses. "It is nice that, now that I have decided to slow down, I have found someone who can take over the work in phases over the next few years."
New techniques
Some of the courses BreedWise teaches have also been hosted by HAS University of Applied Sciences in Den Bosch in recent years. In addition, Breedwise runs many in-company courses. "Companies appreciate the fact that we offer those tailored to their needs," he says. The open enrollment seed technology course will start again in early 2025.
The breeding world never stands still, Idy knows better than anyone else. Crispr-Cas, for instance, is now a regular feature of courses. "I explain to company employees what the technology is and what you can do with it. At the research level, the larger companies are already using it, but it also offers opportunities for smaller companies."
Creating varieties to market using new genomic techniques such as Crispr-Cas is not yet allowed in Europe. Meanwhile, breeding companies are also exploring other specialized techniques. "Companies that are large enough bring these kinds of techniques in-house, but otherwise companies can also turn to service companies that can perform, for example, DNA analysis based on molecular markers."
And where such techniques become more prevalent, new questions arise. It makes BreedWise continue to innovate continuously more than 30 years after its establishment. So now with Peter van Duin taking office as the latest step.
BreedWise is active in arable farming, food horticulture, floriculture, and bulbs and is a member of the industry organization Plantum.
For more information:
BreedWise
[email protected]
www.breedwise.nl