Inari wants to make crops such as maize, soy and wheat more sustainable and resilient againt climate change, by reintroducing genetic diversity into crops and revolutionizing the seed industry. With modern tools, Inari are improving productivity and lowering the time and cost required to create new seeds. Seeds that will eventually grow into crops that are able to feed the world.
The move to the Bioscape facility in Ghent represents Inari’s first step onto the global agricultural stage. The Ghent team will be focusing their efforts on increasing the water and nitrogen-use efficiencies in crops, characteristics critical to addressing climate change and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.
Attractive location
CEO Ponsi Trivisvavet says: ‘There are two main reasons that Ghent is such an attractive location for us. One is the local talent: when it comes to genomic and bioinformatic knowledge, Belgium has an incredible concentration of expertise. A second reason is our partnership with VIB. We highly value the knowledge, experience, skill sets and approach that they have to plant science.’
Fred Van Ex, General Manager Inari Belgium, agrees: ‘This site is important to us due to the proximity of our local partners VIB and ILVO. Collaboration and partnering puts you in a stronger position than if you were to try to do everything by yourself.’
In VIB, five universities in Flanders are working together: Ghent University, KU Leuven, Antwerpen University, Brussels University and Hasselt University. ILVO is an internationally recognized and independent scientific institute, specialized in all fields related to agriculture, fisheries and food in Flanders.
