- EIB lends €20 million to Dutch biotechnology company Solynta to develop potato seeds with strong resistance to disease and resilience to climate change.
- The focus of the EIB loan, which is supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU programme, is on the use of true potato seeds instead of traditional tubers for cultivation.
- Solynta’s technology holds promise of securing successful potato harvests and enhancing food supplies worldwide.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €20 million venture debt financing agreement with Dutch biotechnology company Solynta, to accelerate the development of potato varieties with enhanced resistance to disease and resilience to climate change. 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, don’t spoil during transportation and long-term storage for the next crop season, boosting the chances of a successful harvest and enhancing global food security. The EIB backing for Solynta takes the form of venture debt and is supported under the European Commission’s InvestEU programme.
“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.”
Using true potato seeds as an alternative to tubers for cultivation has the potential to improve the economics of potato production. Through proven hybrid breeding technology, Solynta has been able to create more robust potato varieties that require much fewer crop protection inputs. Solynta’s breeding method, which excludes genetically modified organisms (GMOs), can adapt potato characteristics relatively quickly to different needs including resistance to diseases such as late blight – a destructive fungal illness – and adaptation to climate change. As a result, the company’s potato varieties contribute to the United Nations sustainable-development goals (SDGs) such as ending poverty and hunger and promoting responsible consumption and production.