RZ-100-wt4-E-flipbook-240702 - Flipbook - Page 56
Abroad
Since Rijk Zwaan’s son Jaap started working in the
company, the urge to do more business abroad
becomes increasingly apparent. After all, Jaap Zwaan
had already spent time in the United States in
the 1950s to ‘sample’ foreign plant breeding
activities. Traditionally, Rijk Zwaan has occupied
a strong position in Germany, although the war
has affected sales in this market in the post-war
period. Since the creation of the EEC, however,
most export barriers have disappeared.
For some time, the firm Heemann & Van Dok has
been selling horticultural seeds for Rijk Zwaan
in Germany. Back in 1950, Jaap Zwaan worked
for this firm during a one-year apprenticeship.
Fourteen years later, things are not going well in
The Green Revolution:
Intensification of
agriculture
Germany. Willem van Dok, who runs the business,
is approaching retirement age, and his son Wiebe
has little interest in continuing the business.
When Jaap Zwaan hears about this, he senses
excellent export opportunities for Rijk Zwaan in
Germany. After consulting with his father, they
The Green Revolution, during which the productivity of the
decide to take over Van Dok’s business in 1964.
agricultural production system rose sharply worldwide, takes
Jaap Zwaan will manage the business in Germany
place from the 1960s to the 1980s. The growing world population
under the name ‘Rijk Zwaan Samenzucht und
is creating more and more demand for food, and to meet that
Samenhandlung GmbH’. With the purchase –
demand, farmers are starting to use means of production that
amounting to 405 thousand guilders ownership
optimise the yield of farmland: fertilisers, pesticides, more
rights to the varieties registered by Heemann &
efficient irrigation techniques and improved seeds. Also the
Van Dok also pass to Rijk Zwaan.
discovery of antibiotics (which greatly reduces diseases in livestock) and developments in the logistics and cooling of agricultural products contribute to this. Thanks to the Green Revolution, many countries, including China, Indonesia and India, are
becoming self-sufficient in the production of their staple foods.
The application of the new measures and the scaling up of
production result in yields that are many times higher than before.
Global agricultural intensification also has major drawbacks:
intensive crops sometimes cause ecological destruction (for
example, due to monoculture and land depletion) and great
social inequality. Several decades later, the sustainability
problems surrounding intensive agriculture lead to the organic
movement and the creation of a market for more sustainable
agricultural products, with governments encouraging the
development of environmentally friendly, people-friendly and
Branch office in Welver (D).
animal-friendly technology.
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Rijk Zwaan | Moving forward together
