Plant Variety Rights

Developed by NEIKER for the crisps industry, the purple-skinned variety combines distinctive flesh, frying quality, antioxidant compounds and resistance to two major potato diseases.

Breeding a new potato variety is an exercise in balance. A promising clone may perform well in the field but fail during processing. Another may have an attractive appearance but lack the yield, stability or disease resistance required by farmers and industry.

Atsegiñe was selected because it brings several of these characteristics together. Developed by NEIKER over seven years of crossing,

Creating a new plant variety can take years. It requires significant expertise, investment, and dedication, but the result can contribute to more sustainable agriculture, improved food production, and greater choice for growers and consumers.

The journey following a plant breeder’s process, from selecting parent plants to the emergence of a stable, new variety.

For thousands of years, humans have shaped plants to better meet their needs. What began as the simple selection of plants with desirable traits has evolved into a sophisticated science that helps farmers grow crops that are more productive, resilient, nutritious, and sustainable. This visual serie explores the journey of plant breeding through some of the world's most familiar crops and ornamental plants. By comparing their wild ancestors with the varieties we know today, we can see how generations of selection, innovation, and scientific advances have

Interviewee: Dr Carlo Minoia 

Strategic Vision: Bridging Field and Table 

The guiding logic of SAPISE is dual-focused. 

Dr Minoia explains that genetic research must never lose sight of its purpose: producing high-performing seed “in service of rice cultivation.” At the same time, industrial logic dictates that agronomic performance alone is insufficient if it is not matched by excellence in “organoleptic quality aspects” for the final consumer. 

Structure and Risk: A Geographic Insight

Why a cooperative divided between Piedmont and

The Economic Principle: The Arithmetic of Variety Research

Innovation in breeding rests on a straightforward reality acknowledged by operators: only a tiny fraction of new varieties—roughly one in a hundred—actually achieves success. Against investments extending over ten or more years, the commercial success rate is extremely limited. If assessed solely through a strict economic calculation comparing cumulative costs against the low probability of success, breeding as a commercial activity would likely be financially unjustifiable. 

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