Bridge between research and the field

When Chiara De Lucchi joined the Agro Service eight years ago, she immediately worked on CONVISO^® SMART and supported the launch of this innovation. Now she’s ready for a further task: Taking on the role of Key Account Manager for sugarbeet in Italy.

When Chiara De Lucchi looks at the CONVISO^® SMART grower manual today, she recalls a blank sheet of white paper. It has been eight years since she herself was tasked with drafting those very instructions – one of her first assignments in the international Agro Service at KWS in Einbeck. The technology has advanced in the meantime, and consequently so have details regarding its management. But Chiara says she can still discern the basic outline of her instructions today.

CONVISO^® SMART remained a constant companion in her career at KWS. Less than six months after starting in Einbeck, Chiara moved back to her native country in 2017. “We were just launching CONVISO^® in Italy at the time,” she says. “My predecessor and I were the first to show the technology to the two sugar factories and the farms and train them in how to use it.” More than 50 percent of all KWS varieties in Italy’s fields now boast the technology, a combination of seed and herbicide.

Chiara originally returned to Italy because Giuseppe Noci, the former Sugarbeet Country Manager, was looking for a successor in the Agro Service. He met the new employee by chance during his annual post-sales workshop with Achim Feger, the Regional Director, and they discovered her qualifications for the position. It was Chiara’s first day in Einbeck.

Intensive dialogue

Chiara’s doctoral dissertation, a study of the Fusarium resistance, demonstrates her passion for sugarbeet and how well-suited she is for this post. However, the 37-year-old considers another level apart from specialist know-how to be important in her profession. “At the Agro Service, we build bridges between breeding, sales, marketing, sugar factories and farmers.” Chiara describes herself as a translator of farmers’ concerns and questions into the language of breeders – and vice versa, she advises growers on solutions from breeding.

She collaborates closely with Friedrich Kopisch-Obuch, the breeder in charge of Italy. Together, they assess which genetic material best meets market demands and determine which varieties have the potential to thrive and be successfully launched in the Italian market. Her duties also include supervising field trials, training the sales team and advising marketing. “What I like so much about it is the intensive dialogue with many stakeholders.”

Chiara laid the foundation for this by studying environmental sciences: Instead of working in a specific sector such as chemistry or biology, she wanted to gain an overarching perspective of various topics. “My studies helped me become a translator between scientific subjects – because even between chemistry, biology and physics, the language can be a bit different.”

Chiara is now not only part of the Agro Service, but also Key Account Manager for sugarbeet in Italy – and thus responsible not only for the technical aspects of sugarbeet, but also for the commercial side, including strategy, variety selection, customer contact and close exchange with the sugar factories.

Proximity shapes her everyday life as a whole. “I accompany the entire sugarbeet cycle.” There are phases in which she analyzes data and works strategically – and times where she’s out in the field with farmers or technicians. Sales in Italy looks after two sugar factories with around 2,000 sugarbeet growers. It is crucial in these challenging years for the sector to demonstrate closeness and offer solutions.

Chiara takes care of the large farms such as that of Carlo Pasti near Venice. He’s particularly open to new varieties and provides an area for comparative trials. “This allows us to show how the varieties perform under farm conditions – not just in small plot trials,” says Chiara.

The result of teamwork

In 2020, FIAMMETTA KWS was tested there – Italy’s first CR+ variety. This year, the latest variety is being grown in the trial field: CHIARELLA KWS. The similarity to her own name is a coincidence, says Chiara with a smile. For her, the new variety is the result of many years of successful teamwork. “This variety combines several traits that our customers have been asking for: Cercospora and nematode tolerance as well as high stress resistance and of course good yield.” It has been developed in response to market requirements. “For me, that’s proximity in practice.”

Indeed, she regards KWS as one big team. From the very outset, she benefited from experienced colleagues who shared their knowledge with her. “They not only taught me specialist know-how, but also how important a good network is – because the Agro Service is a job that demands experience.” Today, Chiara knows the right contact person for almost every question – inside and outside the company. “And if I don’t know something, I’ll find someone who does.”

In this way, she learns something new every year. “Even people with more than 20 years of experience see some things for the first time – after all, we’re working together with nature.” If, for example, unexplained symptoms occur in a field, she takes samples and has them analyzed in the laboratory in Einbeck or asks colleagues in other countries if they’ve ever come across that problem before.

“With CONVISO^® SMART we provide an alternative solution for weed control and with CR+ we offer varieties that have green leaves for longer and deliver a better yield, but our job is nowhere near done.” Climate change is causing problems. “The last few summers have been extremely hot – not just in Italy, but throughout Europe,” says Chiara. “Our task now is to understand the effects of heat on plants and find solutions.”

Despite the difficult conditions, she believes KWS is well positioned: “Our varieties are at the top of the Italian sugarbeet industry’s recommendation lists.” And when she talks about the commitment of the farmers, Chiara bursts with enthusiasm. “Growing sugarbeet in Italy is really complicated. Our customers invest a lot of energy in getting the most out of this crop. I think they’re the best in the world.” |