The Nordic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for Pre-breeding

Close-up of red apples at a tree with the blue sky behind.
One of the pre-breeding projects is about Nordic fruit and berries. Photo: S. Hermann & F. Richter/Pixabay.

It takes time to develop new plant varieties with better traits for pest and disease resistance, varieties that are better adapted to climate change adaptation and gives improved yield. In the Nordic region, the public sector cooperates with private plant breeding companies to achieve the highest possible benefit for the Nordic agriculture. This is done within the Nordic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for pre-breeding.

The commercial market in the Nordic countries is too small to be interesting for many of the biggest plant breeding companies. At the same time, our growing conditions are special. This means that collaboration is essential to maintain the competitiveness of our agriculture. The Nordic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for pre-breeding is a collaboration aiming to strengthen plant breeding in the Nordic countries. Through its work the sustainable use of genetic resources in the Nordic region with its unique climate, temperature, and daylight is also promoted. Pre-breeding collaboration between practical plant breeding entities and plant breeding research is a powerful tool to secure the development of agriculture and horticulture. Such development will contribute to the sustainable growth of the bioeconomy and global food security.

The PPP for pre-breeding is funded by the Nordic countries through the Nordic Council of Ministers as well as the plant breeding entities. The secretariat is placed at NordGen.