Welcome at the ESGG congres

As chairman of AGRISEMZA I  welcome you to Blankenberge , close to the sea  but also in the mountains  . In French one calls Bergen “ les montagnes  and Blank is blanc and so  Blankenberge can loosely be translated to Les Monts blancs.

For 27 years we’ve come together yearly in ESGG to exchange ideas about the Seedsector . AGRISEMSA’s dynamic board , this year comprising of 6 Flemish members , who are all present , and 3 Walloon members  off home Thierry Burlet is present. Agrisemza is at the foundation of this tradition and we are looking forward to it’s continuity.

The Belgian multipliers have an important influence on the starting material of the crops with  multiplication of 5000 hectares of cereals and 3500 ha of grass seed . The multiplication of cereals happens primarily in Wallonie , about 4500 ha , and of grass seed is a Flemish accomplishment with 3300ha.

Present today is one of the 20 most influential people in the European seed sector  , mister Thor Gunnar Kofoed . As our chairman says : It’s not so much about the influence but about fighting for the trust and understanding you created .

The United Nations declared 2020 the International Year of plant health and everyone is convinced that sustainability will play an important roll in this . We aim nevertheless for a model that allows a decent income in this globalization system where demand and supply dictate the determination of price and where it is necessary to get our fair share in the chain. The supply has to follow demand and not the other way around .

We are multipliers in a challenging time that asks for many adjustments .  From my experience I can say that one has to be aware of the projected targets but trying to realize  everything at once leads to chaos . The targets have to be clearly delineated and achievable.

Through intense consultation with Louis-Marie Colcombet of the secretary in Paris we manage to bring you  a  balanced program with a very interesting agenda and with the assistance of our secretary Francois Huyghe for the logistic and with Thierry Burlet for the expression “ en francais”; we have all the necessities to have a successful congress

Also with the help of our board member Joris Bulcke  we’ve put an appealing program together for the women with a tour of the beautiful city of Bruges.

I wish you a pleasant and healthy stay in Blankenberge at the sea . Let this be the start of a useful , friendly and educational meeting within the European seed multiplication sector .

Chairman : Hugo Adriansens

Foto’s: De bestuursleden van Agrisemza nemen actief deel aan het congres