An Interview with Augustin Thieffry; Director Bisco seeds (Limagrain) (SOURCE : Seed Buzz ) “Limagrain is an international agricultural co-operative group, specialized in field seeds, vegetable seeds and cereal products. Limagrain is moving agriculture forward to meet the challenges for food and nutrition. Created and managed by French farmers, the Co-operative is anchored in Auvergne, the region of its 2,000 farmer members. As the 4th largest seed company in the world, European leader for functional flours and the largest French industrial producer of bakery products, the Group makes annual sales of almost 2 billion Euros. It has a headcount of more than 8,600, spread out over 41 countries, including more than 1,750 employees in research. Mr. Augustin Thieffry, Director Bisco seeds (Limagrain) in an exclusive interview with Seedbuzz, talks about the current position of Seed industry in India and globally and the developments and major challenges currently faced by the seed industry. Mr. Augustin further reflects on the importance of assessing the safety of genetically-engineered crops. Full Interview – 1. You have been working in this sector since 1980, in different parts of world, how was your experience globally? The Seed industry is rather small in comparison with other sectors. We know each other; we meet at regular times for world or zone congresses. Working for vegetable seeds and now for field seeds, I have been able to see the growth of this industry during the last 35 years all over the world. In fact I have been traveling in more than 90 countries to sell seeds. It is amazing to realize that all markets are developing in the same way, even if it is not at the same pace. 2. What are the developments have you noticed in seed industry in the past few years? The industry is becoming much more organized, structured, following the development and introduction of new technologies and intellectual property rules. Breeding used to be a local activity. But to be competitive nowadays, you need not only to have access to a diversified genetic pool, but also to use new and expensive technologies. Breeding assisted by molecular marking, double haploids, just to name a few of the new methods which help a seed company to create new varieties and hybrids for the benefit of farmers. 3. How do you feel on changing with the changes in the seed industry? The fact that our industry is in constant move, but remains a small but very vibrant sector is a very exciting situation. In our business we have to provide seeds every season, every year. The only way is to build a trustful and reliable partnership between the seed supplier and the farming community. Farming needs change and the responsibility of a seed company is to go along with these changes and to initiate some break through. 4. What are the major challenges currently seed industry is facing? Seed is a basic element for securing food safety. The world population is growing. Every year the Indian population grows by around 18 million people. At the same time, the arable land is shrinking, and some new problems appear such as drought or environmental concerns. It is the duty of the seed industry to bring some solutions to these problems by helping the farmers to produce more and better. 5. What is the current position of seed industry in India and Globally? The Seed Industry in India is in a transition period. For years, this industry was structured around family owned companies which made a very good job providing the country with good seeds. But the challenge is growing every day. To face the demand, there is no choice but to invest a lot in research. Traditionally Indian companies were relying on public institutes and universities to get new inbred lines. These public bodies, as everywhere in the world, do not have enough money to continue this job, and the new technologies are so expensive that it becomes more and more difficult for a small or medium sized company to follow the development of the industry. With the Seed Act of 2004, India has also introduced the process of Plant Variety Protection, which refrains companies to use genetic material of other companies to do their own breeding except if you have a license. It is a very good move as nobody will invest money unless a protection of the IP is in place. Just to give you some number, Limagrain is investing 13 % of its turnover in Research every year. It is more than the average of the pharmaceutical industry. In my opinion the consolidation of the seed sector in India is in process and it will continue. In North America the 3 leaders have 50 % of the seed market, in Europe they have 40 % and Limagrain is one of them, in Japan it is 35 %. In India my estimate is that the 3 leaders have 13 % of the market. I am ready to take a bet: in 10 years from now, the 3 Indian leaders will have at least one third of the total market. Is it good, is it bad, I don’t know, but what is for sure is that it is ineluctable. There is a need to build a few strong companies in India, and it seems to me that only companies with a worldwide activity will succeed. There is no way you can support cost of new technologies by working on a single country even if this country, like India, is a continent by itself. And genetic material will have to be crossed all over the world, in accordance with the biodiversity laws, of course. 6. When comparing both where does India stand? India is still at a starting point. PVP system needs to move faster and to be truly implemented in case of fraud. Import and Export regulations need to be more flexible. Restrictions at the borders are not helping India. Why does it take some times months to get an Import permit for some kind of seeds? Yes, India has to protect its industry, its independence, its biodiversity, but to achieve that goal, the best way is to build a strong Indian industry, competitive with the world one, and the only way is to use what is available all over the world. 7. Which country is more suitable for investing in Seed industry? Any country is suitable for investing as long as you are able to protect your investment and get a return on it. China is a huge market, but by not allowing a foreign enterprise to have a majority stake in a seed company, this country doesn’t encourage anyone to invest too much there. India is much friendlier to investors. PVP is in place even if it has to be more developed. It would be wise for India to implement the last version of the UPOV convention. I sincerely view India as a country going in the right direction. 8. Regarding Talent available in industry are you happy with them or there should be changes made in curriculum at college level? A big advantage of India is its University network. You have a lot of good students going through your education system and talents are available. The main problem is not to find and attract them, but to retain them. They have to understand that you do not make a career by jumping from one company to the other every other year for a 20 % salary increase, but by showing to your company the added value you bring on a mid to long term period. I am now with Limagrain for 35 years and do not regret my choice. 9. What is your opinion about GM crops? GM is a technique among others, but it is a very strong and powerful technique allowing us to achieve goals that are not possible with conventional breeding. All of us know the limitation of chemical usage to fight against pests, and insects, all of us know about the necessity of reducing usage of fertilizers and water. GM can be a response. Of course it has to be approached carefully, but like in the pharmaceutical industry, using this technology with care can bring a lot of benefit to everyone. 10. What are the ethical practices of seed companies which can be threatened GM? GM will be accepted by the population and will benefit to all if they are properly managed. Before to put products on the market, new traits have to be assessed and we shall not tolerate wild usage of this technology. That is why at Limagrain, we test all new genetic material entering in our breeding programs to make sure that we do not introduce an unauthorized trait. 11. Is the safety of genetically-engineered crops assessed? GM technology is a very powerful technique and safety has to be in our mind at every step. It is important to have independent bodies to check the safety of what companies want to put on the market. But decision have to be taken on scientific ground only and not for political reason. And that body has to help us to explain to the population all the benefit they can get from these GM crops. Being French, I know the situation of a country which rejects all of the GM crops just for political reasons. As the authorities are unable to prove any danger with the GM crops, imports of cargo loads of GM soya bean or corn products are entering the French market every day, but our farmers are not authorized to grow the same products on their farms! France is one of the 3 top countries in the world for seed production. In order not to lose our position, we, at Limagrain, have transferred most of our GM research effort outside of Europe. The day French and European authorities will have the courage to authorize GM, we shall be ready. 12. If government makes clinical trials for GMO as mandatory say for about five years or so, how will the seed industry and your organization go through it? Depending of the countries, such trials are already in place. We have no problem to follow such rules providing they are clear, stable, not disproportionate in cost and that if there is no finding the authorization will be granted. We also require the governments to exchange their practices. These trials are very expensive to conduct. Trials conducted in one country should be taking into consideration by other countries, the lab being certified one way or the other. 13. How the patents are given to seeds? Our position at Limagrain is that what we need is Plant Variety Protection. It should remain possible for a breeder to use all genetic material available on the market for its own breeding. Of course, at the end of the day, the new variety or hybrid has to be significantly different from what has been protected. 14. Are the seed industries facing any problem in getting patents? Patenting seed varieties or lines is a big debate within the industry and with authorities. All of us are not on the same position and it differs also from one country to the other. 15. How do we see Bisco Bio science and Limagrain? Bisco is a full subsidiary of Limagrain. We are now ranking Nr 4 in the world. Asia and India will see their seed industry booming in the coming years. If we are willing to keep our ranking or, why not, to become Nr 3, we have no choice but to be an active player on the Indian market. That is why we made this acquisition. But Bisco will not be a distributor of Limagrain in India. Bisco is and will remain an Indian company with its own research, production and sales and marketing. The big advantage for Bisco, in comparison with the pre- acquisition status, is that Bisco has now access to all technologies of Limagrain. The very first year we started a dihaploid program and breeding assisted by markers. 16. How does it feel working with Bisco Bio Sciences, before and after (it has been acquired by Limagrain)? Thanks to Bisco, Limagrain has been able to get very quickly a 7% market share of the Indian Corn Seed Market. To have such a market share is not only important because of financial numbers, but it also gives a strong marketing network which allows us to introduce easier our new hybrids. We started our breeding program in India in 2009, and this year we are introducing 3 Hybrid Corn, 3 Hybrid Rice, one Hybrid Sunflower and one Hybrid Pearl Millet. No doubt that it would have been impossible without such a strong organization. 17. What difficulties have Limagrain faced during acquisition with Bisco? Bisco used to be a family owned company, founded and leaded by Govind Rajgarhia who was able to establish one of the main actors of the Hybrid Corn industry in India. During the acquisition process he realizes the need for his company to have access to new technologies and to the strength of a MNC to remain competitive on a long term. But, as you can imagine, it is always difficult for an entrepreneur, who built such a success story, to “sell his baby” to someone else. It was very emotional. I have to say I have a lot of respect for what he did and for the way he handled the acquisition process. 18. Instead going for Acquisition, why Bisco has not opted for Joint venture? Any particular reason? We were open to a JV but with a very strong condition: to have at least 51% of the capital and effective control of the Company. These conditions are easy to understand: the very same day of the acquisition we made available to Bisco full access to all of our technologies and genetic material in our Group. Such an access can’t be granted if we are not in control of the IP. Govind Rajgarhia and his son stay with us for a few months, but it is never comfortable for some ones who were the promoters of a company to follow the management system of a multinational group, and they proposed themselves to let us take full control. 19. What were the main difficulties you have faced and how you managed to overcome them? In fact the main difficulty was to bring together the 2 teams we had in India: Atash and Bisco. Staffs of Atash were in the Limagrain Group for already 3 years and accustomed to our management system. Bisco staff not only outnumbered Atash staff, but they were very close to the former management. It is not so easy to leave your zone of comfort, with a management team who knows you, who takes good care of you, who speaks your language, for a new experience with foreigners speaking only English, using other methods, and trying to introduce them as quickly as possible. There was a lot of uncertainty for them, and a reluctance to mix with the other team. All of that is understandable but I have the feeling that, thanks to the effort of everyone, this situation is now fully solved. It is true that we have introduced a lot of western management things such as a handbook of human resources policy, a medical plan for everyone, an insurance system, a structured salary scheme. All of this is different from before and it was necessary for our staff to live the new situation, to get some experience before to start trusting us. It is may be not very humble, but I think we gain this trust thanks to everyone, even if a lot have still to be done. 20. Recently you have acquired a Thailand based company, Seed Asia; would you give some insights on it? Seed Asia is an independent Thai company established in 2005 by an American guy, Tim Welsh, and his wife Aoy. In a few years they have been able to build a nice, strong and profitable corn company which has 7 % of the Thai market, and is number 2 in such countries as Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, with some export to other South East Asian markets. With this acquisition we are strengthening our presence in Asia around 3 entities: Bisco in India, Seed Asia in South East Asia and Shanxi Limagrain in China. Tim and his wife entered in a deal with us for exactly the same reasons than the Rajgarhia: necessity of having access to new technologies. 21. What percentage of growth you have been witnessing in the past 10 years in terms of output from the seeds you are manufacturing? At the Limagrain level and a worldwide basis, our growth is around 8 % every year. 22. What percentage of your companys annual expenditure is devoted to research and development? For Limagrain we are at 13 %. Of course when we looked at the figures of Bisco and Seed Asia, the level was much lower, around 2 %. But our very first decision in the 2 cases is to increase gradually buy pretty quickly this level. For the current Fiscal Year we are budgeting a R&D effort around 7 % of our total turnover. On a longer term we are foreseeing an effort around 10 %. Less than the average of the Group but we do not have a lot of heated greenhouse like in Europe and salaries in Asia are still moderate in comparison with Western countries, even if the gap is shrinking pretty fast for the most talented individuals. 23. How fool proof is your supply chain system to control the piracy? Very good question! It is very difficult to control piracy but to start with, we put in place all necessary tools to fight against that. It begins with the protection of our lines and hybrids. We have decided to apply for PVP for everything we put on the market. We make a lot of controls with molecular markers to get full evidence of piracy, if any. We have also decided to put some holograms on our packets to avoid any faked bags on the market. We know it is not perfect, but we will do all we can to protect our IP and, in fine, our clients: we do not want to have them penalized because of faked seeds. 24. What are your recommendations to the New Government in India, what has to be done to develop Indian seed business and what would help foreign investors to be more aggressively invested in India? As a foreign guest of India, I am not so sure I am entitled to give any recommendation to the Government. However, let me say that all actors of the seed industry in your country, including authorities, should ask themselves a simple question: India has a huge potential to be one of the leading provider of seeds for the world. Market is global nowadays. But if you look at statistics, India is still a dwarf at the world level as far as exchange of seeds is concerned. Why? I already explained how important it is to develop and implement PVP, to fully adopt the last version of the UPOV agreement and accept rules and regulations which run the seed business all over the world. It is perfectly normal that a country put in place rules and regulations to protect its industry, its biodiversity and its farmers, but over regulation is becoming just bureaucracy and is discouraging anyone who wants to make business. I just repeat myself: why does it take months to get an import permit from Exim? I am just coming back from Myanmar where I met officials writing the new version of the Seed Law. I was sincerely impressed by their practical approach. They wish to attract seed companies from abroad, and they decided to make a law to fight against smuggled and faked seeds, to force companies to register their varieties, but they go with a simple, business friendly law. Varieties and hybrids will be registered in 2 seasons, one year, after trials on 3 official stations. Once registered, import and local production are authorized. They are not member of UPOV but they do intent to apply exactly the same rules. I am pretty sure that this country will become a major player in the coming years. Can we dream of such a move in India? About Mr. Augustin Having got his Agronomist degree from French University of Nancy, he started his career with Limagrain in 1980 as Sales & Marketing Regional Manager of Vilmorin (Vegetable Seeds) in charge of North and East Europe. In 1986 Mr. Augustin launched the American subsidiary of Vilmorin in Washington. In 1987, he was nominated as International Vice President of Ferry-Morse Seed Co in California. He came back to Vilmorin in France in 1990 to become CEO of this Company 1996 : He took the responsibility of all Vegetable Seed Companies of Limagrain ( Clause, Vilmorin, Ferry-Morse, Harris Moran, Nickerson Zwaan) based at the Limagrain Headquarters. 1998: CEO of Jacquet Bakery, subsidiary of Limagrain 2008: Deputy CEO of Long Ping High Tech Co. in Changsha, Hunan, Chinese leader of the Hybrid Rice Seeds, company in which Limagrain took a minority share 2010 : MD of Atash Seeds Pvt Ltd in Hyderabad and after acquisition of Bisco, MD of Bisco Bio Sciences Pvt Ltd 2014: After acquisition of Seed Asia Pvt Ltd in Bangkok, he became the Director of Limagrain Asia based in Bangkok
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 14:24:06 +0000
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