Fruitnet

Uri Krieger’s roots go deep when it comes to developing new types of vegetable. Recently appointed as global head of vegetables and flowers R&D at Syngenta, he says he’s determined to use his background in plant breeding to overcome public scepticism about genetics and, even more crucially, to help growers produce more and better crops with greater efficiency. “By 2050, the world population will be around 30 per cent higher, at about 10bn, so demand for food is expected to grow,” Krieger tells Fruitnet's Chris White in the latest edition of Fruitbox. “We’re going to have many more people and increased consumption.” At the same time, producers need to know that the vegetables they grow in future can cope with changes in climate, he insists. “We have to find ways to grow our food more efficiently, [because] at the same time the amount of resources available, like water and soil, have either stayed flat or in some cases have been reduced.” He adds: “Our challenge as an industry is to find a sustainable soluti