Enza Zaden kicks off Vitalis facility project

Vegetable breeding company Enza Zaden has given the green light to the construction of its sustainable 8ha production location in Luttelgeest, in the Dutch province of Flevoland.

Enza Zaden confirmed that the new site would see Vitalis organic seed produced for sales to professional organic growers worldwide.

This will involve mostly organic sweet pepper and cucumber seed, but organic lettuce and leek seed will also be produced, with the first seeds expected to be sown from April 2024.

Allison Thomas, chief operations officer, and Dirk Neelis, chief financial officer at Enza Zaden, revealed the construction sign in the company of invited guests and the construction partners involved, formally marking the start of construction work on the organic production location.

“As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the need for healthy food,” said Thomas. ”We’re also seeing the demand for organic seed increase for, among others, sweet pepper and cucumber.

”This is why we’re building this new, sustainable production location for Vitalis Organic Seeds in Luttelgeest,” she explained. ”This is in line with our goal: breeding to feed the world and creating value for sustainable life and living.”

Construction of three hectares of greenhouses will begin first on the eight-hectare site.

As well as greenhouses, there will be a seed production building, a seed extraction building, a large basin and a helophyte filter, or biofilter, for purification of waste water.

In order to produce vegetable seeds as sustainably as possible, the family company will be installing over 900 solar panels on the roofs.

In the 7,000m2 basin, with a capacity of nearly three Olympic-size swimming pools, rainwater is collected and this is expected to be enough to meet the site’s total water need.