FoA 327: Plant Breeding's Past, Present and Future with Marcel Bruins, Ph.D.

Future of Agriculture

Visit our quarterly presenting sponsor: https://www.CalgaryAgbusiness.com

Bruins Seed Consultancy: https://www.bruinsseedconsultancy.com/

"20 Most Famous Plant Breeders": https://european-seed.com/2022/07/20-most-famous-plant-breeders-1-5/

Dr. Marcel Bruins studied Plant Breeding at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, followed by a PhD award on Fusarium resistance in wheat. He worked for 10 years with a vegetable seed company as Manager Plant Variety Protection. He then served for 7 years as Secretary-General of the International Seed Federation (ISF), lead the Secretariat of the International Grain Trade Coalition (IGTC) through a phase of transition and continued working as their Scientific Advisor. Besides being the Editorial Director of the ‘European Seed’ magazine, he also operates as an independent consultant, helping out companies and non-profit organizations with their questions on seed, grain, trade facilitation, intellectual property and international outreach.

I came across his work from a series of article he recently published in European Seed called “20 Most Famous Plant Breeders”. I really enjoyed that series and we talk a little bit about it towards the end of today’s episode. I’ll of course link to those in the show notes. Beyond that, Marcel and I also talk about what has changed about plant breeders, how they balance grower demands (like pest management) with consumer demands (like flavor and nutrition), how the field of plant breeding will need to adjust to big challenges like climate change, and how new technologies will change the game.