"The demands on plant pathology are increasing," said Kerstin Krüger at this year's company dialogue forum. She has been leading the department at KWS for four years, where innovative methods to promote healthy plants are being developed. Her department is in close contact with almost all areas, but of course especially with breeding. While fewer chemical pesticides are being used in agriculture, insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other pests are spreading further due to climate change. This creates a double pressure on plant health. At the plant pathology center, the focus is on diagnostics and monitoring of pests and plant diseases. KWS has already developed around 150 testing methods, including simple test options for use directly in the field. How this generally works, everyone now knows from the COVID tests, said Kerstin Krüger. The scientist has lived and worked abroad for 30 years, most recently in Africa. In Pretoria, she also holds a visiting professorship for integrated plant protection.
Since 2009, KWS has been inviting representatives of regional interest groups to a dialogue forum – an annual event aimed at promoting the exchange of different perspectives.
The new Phytopathology Center is being built as a two-part structure: on 2,400 square meters as a functional building with a basement and several climate chambers, and on 2,200 square meters as a greenhouse with a total of 28 compartments, where different climatic conditions can be simulated, reported Georg Folttmann, who is responsible for construction activities at KWS, at the dialogue forum.
As a result of the new elite storage facility, the company has meanwhile begun repurposing the former elite storage. KWS is investing around seven million euros in the renovation of 'Hall 1' by next year to accommodate the areas of seed technology and vegetables, as well as the sugar beet quality laboratory.
The current balance sheet and corporate figures were presented at the dialogue forum by Sebastian Talg, who has been on the executive board for a few weeks. KWS is solidly positioned and is currently experiencing a sideways movement in sales. The seed company continues to invest unchanged in research and development, spending 349 million euros in the past fiscal year, with 38 percent of all KWS employees working in this area. The 47-year-old new board member will, together with his also new finance board colleague Dr. Jörn Andreas, present himself to the shareholders for the first time at the annual general meeting on December 3rd in the PS.Halle.
Katrin Feger and Stephan Krings reported at the dialogue forum on KWS's social engagement in the region. The company invests just under one percent of its profit in social projects that provide added value. Most recently, this amounted to around two million euros, with 62 percent going to education and science, and about eleven percent to art and culture. In Einbeck, KWS has recently committed significantly more, with around 500,000 euros (previous year: 365,000 euros). The activities include events such as the Kulturkrafttage, the Bierstadtlauf, the Händel Festival Göttingen, concerts by the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, and events of the Göttinger Literaturherbst in Einbeck. KWS now focuses its art activities in the Art Lounge on Tiedexer Straße with four exhibitions held annually. The company is more actively involved with the PS.Speicher, as well as in city marketing in Einbeck. In addition, there is a company-affiliated daycare center, for which the application process is currently underway. KWS also wants to admit children under 3 years old whose parents do not work at KWS. In the 'Jugend forscht' competition, KWS remains on board as a sponsor company for the state competition for 9- to 14-year-olds, and also supports the new 'MINTmachRaum': 'Those who want to sow the future need spaces to experiment.'
Source: einbeckaktuell.blog
Author: Frank Bertram