More high-tech, less agriculture: The Israeli company sowing the future

"We can proudly say that Israel is a power in the world of vegetable seeds," says Ofer Peleg, CEO of Hazera, in a conversation with Maariv. Hazera is one of the largest and oldest international companies in the seed industry. Its story, first and foremost a story of Zionism, began decades ago in two different countries: Israel and the Netherlands. The Israeli side of the story began in 1939, when Hazera Israel was founded and breathed life into Israeli agriculture – even before the state was established. Earlier, in the Netherlands, over 100 years ago, a man named Jan Brorssen began selling cabbage seeds to local growers in Twijzelerheide. Today, Hazera is part of the Limagrain Group – an international farmers' cooperative based in France, but the heart of its operations and R&D is in Israel.

"Our need in this country to develop varieties despite and because of the conditions encouraged us to be the best in the world," Peleg emphasizes during a tour of the company’s massive facility in southern Israel, where they develop, grow, research, and market countless fruit and vegetable seeds both domestically and globally.

"The primary goal is food security," Peleg says. "No matter the climate or the land conditions, you can ensure that something will grow and feed you.

"Many countries look at what our company is doing," he emphasizes. "In a region like the Middle East, which suffers from droughts, there is a huge advantage to varieties that can yield even with minimal water, and this is just one example."

The Limagrain Group grew to become the largest seed company in Europe, specializing in vegetables, field crops, and grains. Its vegetable seed division is the largest in the world. Peleg stresses that this multinational partnership benefits all parties. "As a company inspired by nature, our mission is to help people, partnerships, and crops thrive. We make this happen through significant investment in R&D and expertise backed by over a hundred years of experience – this is the foundation for our successful partnerships," he says. He explains that Hazera has headquarters in both the Netherlands and Israel, while also operating subsidiaries in 11 additional countries, along with a distribution network serving over 130 markets. "Our clients operate in all types of climates, with diverse growing conditions and market demands," he explains.

Peleg says the company employs a thousand people worldwide, about 450 of them in Israel, 250 in the Netherlands, and around 300 spread across subsidiaries globally. He emphasizes that despite the war and international pressures, they receive full support from their French parent company. "They focus on business, not politics," he explains.

Peleg also notes that the need for so many representatives worldwide is crucial to achieving the company’s goals. "Every region and country has different genetics of varieties. This means different requirements from growers, and from us who essentially cultivate the varieties.

"The cultivation work isn’t done just here; we work all over the world. You can’t have this dialogue, this tango with farmers, unless you are physically present. Our advantage really begins with global presence, then with the tools at our disposal, our technology. Ultimately, it’s livelihood; the grower wants certainty. He can’t wake up in the morning to find 20 percent less yield – he needs 100 percent all year. Because that helps him continue his life and his tradition. That’s essentially our goal: To give him the best product. And it’s complex because it’s a living product, not an assembly line."

The biggest advantage of Hazera, at least from the tour I conducted at the company’s Israeli headquarters, is that it outwardly feels more like a high-tech company than an agricultural one. The combination of both brings about interesting and groundbreaking developments. "Through our extensive R&D programs, we tirelessly work to improve yield, quality, disease resistance, with each new variety providing added value and advantage to our customers," Peleg emphasizes.

In the visitor center, they showed me Maggi, a miracle tomato with a meaty, firm texture and excellent taste, combining sweetness and acidity. This variety was developed by Hazera in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture using traditional crossbreeding without genetic engineering, and it has a long shelf life. "Bringing something like this to market takes seven to eight years," Peleg emphasizes. "It’s a complete development process, the science of agriculture, and it places us at the forefront of Israeli technology." In the numerous facilities across the company’s Israeli headquarters, among the various greenhouses, there are many advanced laboratories, among the best in the world, whose sole purpose is to improve the quality of fruits and vegetables to meet diverse needs globally.

"We collaborate with international research institutes and implement the most advanced scientific developments to produce better solutions for our customers worldwide," Peleg explains. "Our R&D processes and laboratories are certified to the highest quality standards. The facilities include a genotyping center, a cell biology lab, and a phytopathology lab.

"To meet the future challenges of growers, nurseries, marketers, processors, and consumers, vision and a clear-eyed look to the future are required. We achieve this through comprehensive market research, testing new markets, and leading collaborations with various players in the chain. Our excellent market orientation guides us in our research and cultivation actions," he adds.

"The new varieties we market bring improved yield with consistent performance, resistance to pests, diseases, and environmental conditions, and are desirable among end consumers – all embedded in our excellent seeds. Since developing varieties takes time, our ability to anticipate market trends is one of the keys to our success."

Peleg emphasizes that farmers are full partners in the company’s work in Israel. "Every variety development," he explains, "after it leaves the lab, is done together with farmers. We select the best farmers, those with the right skills. Every variety development is a very complex process. You need constant feedback from the field."

The horrific events of October 7, 2023, unfortunately did not spare Hazera. "Beyond our employees serving in the reserves, sadly, we know many people who were affected by the war."

Tal Maman z”l, a young farmer who ran his family farm in Mivtahim near the Gaza envelope, collaborated with Hazera on many trials. The last one was testing a new mini plum cherry tomato variety.

The plot was planted in September 2023, but Tal z”l, who fell on the morning of the 7th defending his home and family, did not live to see the fruit of his labor.

"As a tribute to Tal, Hazera chose to name the new mini plum variety TALHERO, combining the words ‘Tal’ and ‘hero’ in English," Peleg says. "He truly was a hero, one of the most talented growers in Israel, and a full partner in the development of some of our varieties."

Peleg explains that the war’s consequences struck growers in the south hard. "Many greenhouses and facilities of growers we work with were damaged along the Ten Route. Even our factory in Sderot, and in general the country, was closed. It was a very difficult period." However, it is important to note that despite the political conditions created by the war, the global demand for Israeli products, and their quality, preserved the company’s international relations.

The high-quality agricultural products delivered to growers and marketed abroad are a finished product after years of hard and intensive research work.

One of the women responsible for this is Efrat Makovitzky, head of the germination lab at the complex, who came from academia. "There is a complete process of bringing a product to market – starting with the need to develop something new and the cultivation, which takes several years. When this phase is completed and production begins, there are several tests such as seed health, genetic testing, and another test in the germination lab," Makovitzky explains.

"The germination lab basically tests the most basic parameter: Whether it germinates or not, and another parameter is uniformity of germination. The nursery buys a million seeds of a certain variety; they want all to germinate at the same time. Otherwise, it’s a loss of money, manpower, and time.

"We receive seed samples in the lab and test germination in two main ways: In trays, or by sowing in special water-absorbent paper. Each crop has its own temperature and growth days. The global standard requires us to start at 95% germination or higher. If it’s less, the batch is rejected or undergoes additional treatment.

"The lab conducts many tests. Each tester follows their protocol, then results are compared, even within the team. Once a year, comparative tests are conducted to ensure everyone is doing the same thing. We have effectively eliminated the human factor, neutralized variable conditions, and preserved the true quality of the seeds," she emphasizes.

"A tremendous amount of work and thought is invested in each process to ultimately reach the market with seeds of very high quality. It’s a whole content world: Turning genetic potential into a commercial product," Makovitzky concludes.

The germination lab is just one of many facilities at the Israeli headquarters. Another lab uses advanced imaging and measurement technologies to examine data on crop quality before shipping, or even during trials on a particular variety of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, and more. "This can give us a lot of data such as size, shape, color – a lot of data that breeders and geneticists can use," Peleg explains.

"These processes shorten the cultivation period from ten years to 6–8 years. It also reduces costs and time, which is a significant parameter. This is not an automatic result. There are hundreds of variations until you reach one good commercial variety that you want to launch, and the farmers want to receive."

He explains that technological advancement ultimately benefits the consumer. "Today in the supermarket, when we buy tomatoes, we almost naturally see clusters. Previously, this was a product we bought individually. There is efficiency here for both the grower and the consumer."

He recalls the revolution the company achieved with the Daniela tomato, launched more than 30 years ago. "It was the first tomato in the world with a shelf life. Until then, tomatoes had only 3–4 days of shelf life, and suddenly we brought a tomato that revolutionized the market with two weeks on the shelf. It caused a global revolution."