Dear Readers,

The coronavirus has shaped the lives of people around the globe for the past year. We all hope that infections can soon be reduced with the availability of a vaccine. Until then, the safety concepts (which you can find in the KWS intranet) continue to apply. Thanks to the discipline with which you have implemented these measures, we have succeeded in keeping the number of infections at KWS low. Intensive use of digital tools and your creative ideas have allowed operations to continue virtually without disruption during the pandemic. The new videos from the series “Seed is Life” on the intranet show you what that can look like in practice.

Megatrends are political, social and technological developments that will shape our future to a major extent. We have to take them into account in defining KWS’ strategic orientation. The “Strategic Planning” team has identified megatrends that impact KWS’ business.

New breeding methods can play a key role in promoting sustainable agriculture. They can help speed up the breeding process and have the potential to enable development of plants that need less water or fertilizer, are more resistant to pests and diseases, and deliver more reliable yields. You can read more about the cutting-edge topic of genome editing.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of insideKWS – and stay healthy!