(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Solynta and PepsiCo’s Ethiopia-based Foods Unit, Senselet Food Processing PLC (Senselet), have launched a project to introduce hybrid true potato seeds (HTPS) to Ethiopia. Hybrid breeding is the focused breeding of desirable traits like pest resistance and hardiness - improving food security and ensuring more sustainable income for farmers.

Ethiopian researchers and farmers will test the seeds, and Solynta/PepsiCo will work closely with Ethiopian authorities to establish legal frameworks for seed import, seed variety registration, and certification of hybrid seed tubers.

“Our teams will develop with farmers the best practices for Ethiopian conditions,” said Charles Miller, Solynta’s Director of Business Development. “Hybrid breeding will significantly affect crop practices, productivity, and reliance on pesticides.”

The partnership aligns with the Ethiopia-Netherlands Seed Partnership (ENSP), whose mission is to “enable the private sector in Ethiopia to deliver farming men and women high-quality seed of improved varieties much needed for food security, nutrition, and climate resilience.”

PepsiCo is the leading Ethiopian potato processing company. The announcement of its cooperation with Solynta closely follows PepsiCo’s $40 million cash injection to expand in Ethiopia. “This investment will allow us to leverage PepsiCo’s global expertise to boost the business’ potato sourcing programs, as well as its manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities,” said Chris Wijnterp, Senselet’s GM at the time of the investment announcement. “We want to help build a more sustainable food system in Ethiopia by meeting human needs while bolstering global economic and social development.”

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo Positive is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.ssa.pepsico.africa.

About Solynta
Solynta is a Dutch hybrid potato innovator whose mission is to help create global solutions for food and nutritional insecurity by giving farmers better, stronger and more cost-efficient ways to grow crops. Solynta’s technology will provide resistance to disease and pests, provide ease of use, and facilitate production speed and scalability. To learn more, visit www.solynta.com.

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Contacts
Press Contact
Hannah Foster
(Maneuvre, on behalf of Solynta)
press@solynta.com

Gugu Gowera
(FleishmanHillard, on behalf of PepsiCo)
gugu.gowera@fleishman.co.za