UPDATE: Hazera UK Partners Veg Power Schools Project!

UPDATE 07/12/23

Colleagues from Hazera UK joined the Veg Power Team on 8th June 2023 to help the children of Birchwood Junior School in Lincoln with the next exciting stage of their ‘GROWING TO LOVE’ tomato project.

It was time to re-pot the tomato seedlings that the children had raised and looked after so carefully since sowing them in April, and they were thrilled to show us what they had achieved, all perfectly captured by the Veg Power camera crew!

With much enjoyment and enthusiasm, involving compost, pots, labels and plenty of water, the children were justly proud and happy to have prepared their plants to take home for nurturing over the summer holidays. We are sure you will see their joy and delight in the attached photographs!

We hope to have the opportunity to re-visit the school in September to witness the final chapter –
The Tomato Harvest!

(Original article below)


Hazera UK are delighted to be full members of the UK Veg Power Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation encouraging children to eat more vegetables. It has been shown that 80% of UK children are not eating enough vegetables, with one third eating less than one portion a day. Veg Power has introduced several initiatives to inspire children, and their parents, to include more vegetables as a fundamental part of their everyday diet.

Providing educational packs

One of the Veg Power initiatives for 2023 is to provide educational packs to schools across the country to link with the ‘EAT THEM TO DEFEAT THEM’ TV advertising campaign. The packs will be sent to 15 schools in the area around the Hazera UK Head Office, supported by our membership of the Alliance. We believe providing the packs to local schools will not only encourage the health and nutrition of local children but also promote the Hazera brand more widely.

Growing to Love

Hazera UK will also support the participation of local schools in another Veg Power initiative, ‘GROWING TO LOVE’. Most children are enthused by planting a tiny seed, nurturing it, and watching it grow, indeed, research has shown children are more likely to try the food they have grown themselves. The ‘GROWING TO LOVE’ project involves children sowing and raising tomato plants during the summer, and then using the fruits in cooking sessions at the conclusion of the project. In partnership with Veg Power, Hazera UK has agreed to fund ten classes of thirty children in local schools, providing each child with a Hazera-branded tomato growing kit. We will have the opportunity to take part in the fun by joining the Veg Power Team on two fully managed school visits: one for planting and one for repotting.

 

Explaining the journey from ‘field to fork’

With many children, especially those living in more urban environments, being unaware of the origin of their foods, this campaign and these visits will enable Hazera UK to explain the journey from ‘field to fork’ of vegetable production. This has the potential to expand knowledge and understanding of horticulture in the environment, and to also impart an appreciation of outdoor activities to improve health and wellbeing.

CSR commitments

Hazera UK absolutely endorses the ambitions and goals of this exciting project and is keen to play an active role. We are proud to be associated with our local community, whilst contributing to our CSR commitments. We look forward to the various activities and will provide you with updates showing the progress of our involvement throughout the summer months.

Please visit this link for more information on ‘GROWING TO LOVE’ and other exciting campaigns run by the Veg Power Team.

The Best Storage Onion of 2023: Dormo!

Yesterday at the Dutch ‘Themadag UI’ in Dronten, grower Jan Pieter Smid from Zeewolde won the first price for the ‘Best Storage Onion of 2023’ with our variety Dormo! We would like to take this oppurtinity to congratule Jan Pieter with his victory. Dormo is one of our bestselling Onion varieties. It’s is the firmest onion with the best skin on the independent varieties list Semi-late variety, suitable for very long-term storage. Under the right conditions, the firmest onion with the best skin retention in the Rijnsburg range. The high-quality onion for export. Generally the highest scoring net yield onion.

Want to know more information? Please contact our Cropspecialist, they are happy to support!

Hazera sows the seeds for a sustainable future

“As a seed company working on the frontlines of the environmental crisis,” says Michal Efrat, Quality Assurance Manager Environment & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), “Hazera knows we need to take better care of our planet, so it can continue to nourish people everywhere. That’s why the environment is key to our CSR strategy.” Launched in 2020, ‘Growing the future together’ aims to embed social and environmental responsibility and a sustainable, ethical mindset into everything we do.

“We want to be the best seed company in the world – and for the world,” Michal continues. “By producing seeds and contributing to plant growth, we’re off to a good start. But we want to grow our positive impact even further.”

Reducing emissions & cutting back on waste and materials
We’re exploring various ways to reduce Hazera’s carbon footprint. “Our Netherlands bike leasing program is very popular with colleagues and also takes cars off the road,” Michal says. “Plus, we’re looking into electric/hybrid company vehicles and carbon offsetting for plane travel, along with installing solar panels at our offices.” Meanwhile, in Israel and the Netherlands, single-use items like disposable cups are gone from Hazera offices. In the USA, we recycle seed pallets, and in our Sderot plant we even upcycle some into furniture.

Protecting our planet’s biodiversity
Seeds are what we do best at Hazera – and our colleagues in the Netherlands and Israel have been planting flowers around their homes and offices. “Bee populations are suffering,” explains Michal, “and wildflowers are crucial for healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. This way we protect our biodiversity and the local bees love their new habitats!”

Plogging
In March 2021, a devastating oil spill reached the Israeli coastline. “We had to act,” Michal says. “A group of colleagues helped clean up the tar residue on local beaches. That was the inspiration for our company-wide ‘plogging’ initiative, where participants collect litter while walking or running.”

No Planet B
We only have one planet, and we need to protect its ecosystems to feed the growing global population. At Hazera, we’re committed to helping preserve our environment, so we can continue growing a healthy, flourishing future together.

New Deputy CEO of Hazera: “It is like a Marathon run, and we want to finish first!”

August 2022

 Since 19th May 2022, Ofer Peleg has been the new Deputy CEO of Hazera. He leads Sales, Supply Chain, IT and Production. Ofer says: “We have great DNA in Hazera, but also opportunities and potential to become a well-integrated company and realise solid and robust processes”.

Ofer, fifty years old, lives near Tel Aviv, with his wife and three children, aged 21, 18 and 13. He used to work for several leading companies in multicultural and dynamic environments. “I started as an Industrial Engineer in the Pharmaceutical Industry where I stayed for about twenty years. At Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Israeli global generic leader, I served in various positions in both R&D and Operations, where my last role was to manage three large facilities in Europe. For that role, I moved with my family to Amsterdam for two years. After that I became Vice-President of the Global supply chain at Sun Pharmaceuticals, a global Indian Pharmaceutical company. In the last four years I was the vice-president of the Global supply chain at Netafim, a global leader in precision irrigation. At Netafim, I focused on the same customers and ambition as Hazera; helping farmers to get the best out of their crops for both quantity and quality.”


Go the extra mile
“I was given a very warm welcome, both at Hazera and Limagrain. There is a strong sense of partnership and the people I have met enjoy their profession and are very enthusiastic, willing to go above and beyond to serve our customers. They know that by doing so, they are making the world a better place. Shortly after I started at Hazera, I was lucky to meet many of my colleagues at the annual Limagrain conference in Prague.


Marathon run

“I have started to learn that there is a huge know-how and great professionalism here”, says Ofer, “but our competitors are not waiting for us, and we have to be agile, flexible and focused on quality. We can’t stop, not even for a minute; we are running a marathon and we want to finish first. There is also an opportunity for becoming a well-integrated company and realising solid and robust processes.”

Way of working
“We produce seeds all over the world. How can we do this as efficiently as possible? What is our optimal footprint? How do we optimize our inventory?  How can we leverage our capabilities?  In my former positions I have helped answering similar kinds of questions. I’m looking forward to sharing my experience and contributing to Hazera.”

High quality is very important in onions

The Netherlands is one of the most important export countries for onions. Quality is therefore becoming increasingly important. For you as a grower, a high-quality onion is a flexible onion. It ensures that you can decide for yourself how long you keep and when you sell.
Our crop specialist Andre Boot is happy to tell you more about it.

The Perfect Snack Tomatoes? It’s All About Adjusting the Timing

An interview with: Arjan van Steekelenburg, Produce Chain Manager / Trade and Retail Account Manager

Juan Jeronimo Montes, Product Development Specialist, Hazera España

Adults and children everywhere are opting more and more for new varieties of fresh produce that don’t require any special effort or preparation. In response to this global trend in healthy veggie snacking, Hazera, a global leader in the seed industry and tomatoes in particular, has developed the Camelot Tomato—a real “Tada” product that changes the game for the whole supply chain.

The Camelot is just like the legendary castle it was named after, a place of harmony and a stronghold. Its unique taste, flawless appearance, sweetness, and extraordinarily long shelf life make it worthy of its noble title.

 

For about 15 years, growers have been harvesting tomatoes while still green, and letting them ripen and redden during transportation. In this case, however, Arjan van Steekelenburg explained to us that: “Unlike most tomatoes of this kind, the Camelot should not be harvested too early. In order for it to reach full potential, growers must let it ripen on the vine, and pick it only once it has reached its unique shade of red. Nobody can manage the ripening process better than the plant itself. You just need to get the timing right for great results. From the moment the tomatoes are harvested, as they move along the entire supply chain and up to the consumer’s table… or often lunchbox nowadays, they will keep fresh and tasty for up to 20 days.”

 

 

And that is an amazing figure by any standards. Growers will fully reap the benefits once they make this shift in their minds. Not only them, but the entire supply chain will be optimized, because from the time they get on the retail shelf, Camelot tomatoes still have between 7-12 days of freshness left. As consumers, we can buy a larger weekly supply for our homes, knowing that if not on this weekend, we can still enjoy them the next one. Chances of that are slim though, because after tasting them, we don’t think anyone can resist eating them for so many days:)

The best part is that everyone gets to benefit from these advantages: growers, distributors, retailers, grocery shoppers, and whoever else consumes food at home.

 

Juan Jeronimo MONTES says: “We believe Camelot tomatoes represent a revolution in the sector for other reasons too. Even in regions with varying climates like Morocco and Spain, they can be grown and harvested all year round, throughout the seasons. These are highly productive plants that make for very profitable business, while consumers get more value for their money. Our team works closely with growers and distributors in these countries, providing advice, technical support, and assistance, regardless of location, growing method, or external conditions.”

 

Growers are tempted out of habit to harvest tomatoes green. These pictures illustrate how the fruit develops within 17 days, depending on the stage it was at when harvested:

Day 1 (Harvest)
Too Early Right on Time Too Late

Day 17

Too Early Right on Time Too Late

 

It is clear that when Camelot tomatoes are harvested at the right time, red and ripe as shown on the middle column, they remain fresh and with great taste, brix, and no cracking on day 17!

Who Stands Behind the Camelot tomato?

Hazera, part of the French Limagrain Group, has decades of experience with state-of-the-art technology in breeding, developing, producing and marketing varieties and seeds in a wide range of vegetable crops around the world.

The company is headquartered in Israel and The Netherlands, with subsidiaries in twelve countries, and an extensive distribution and technical support network serving over 100 additional markets. This enables the team to anticipate and respond to local needs by creating varieties that fit specific climates, growing conditions, and market requirements.

COVID changed the world as we know it! Want to know more? Watch our Talkshow!

COVID changed the world as we know it! Want to know more on all the trends that are here to stay? And what to expect in the future. Experts Anneke Ammerlaan (Vision on Food), Cindy van Rijswick (Rabobank) and Wilco van den Berg (Fresh Produce Centre) look forward updating you. You can now watch our Talkshow!

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