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6 years ago

The Partnership no. 12

  • Text
  • Enza
  • Partnership
  • Zaden
  • Vegetables
  • Cauliflower
  • Products
  • Varieties
  • Japan
  • Seeds
  • Breeding

Behta takes Iranian

Behta takes Iranian horticulture to the next level Partnership Strong local partners are vitally important for an international company like Enza Zaden. In Iran, distributor Behta International Ltd. has been a loyal and successful partner for the past 15 years. “Behta pioneered the transfer of hybrid seed technology and indoor vegetable growing into Iran,” says Deputy Manager Ali Vaziri. “We are still a major player in this. Even though it sometimes takes a lot of time and effort to convince growers of the added value, our steady growth shows that the transition to modern varieties and cultivation methods is in full swing.” Behta was founded in 1989 by Morteza Vaziri, Hasan Salehi and Ali Roshanzamir. Their mission was to modernise both Iran’s agriculture and horticulture and the foodstuffs industry, using new technologies. Led by agricultural engineer Vaziri, the emphasis shifted to the sale of vegetable seeds and to agronomic knowledge transfer to growers to achieve the best possible performance from the seeds. “The combination of high-quality varieties and growing knowledge is still the basis of our success,” explains son Ali Vaziri, who has strengthened the management team over the past three years. “Without a well-trained field service of specialist engineers, who were first led by senior agronomist Bahman Khagani and now by Sattar Salemi, we would never have come this far.” Building on success together Around 2002, Enza Zaden and Behta were both looking for new strong partners to realize their goals in the Iranian market. The discussions which followed gave both parties the feeling that a durable partnership offered opportunities. The relatively young, fast-growing population, which has now reached some 83 million, offered Enza Zaden the prospect of an attractive growth market. Behta in turn gained access to state-of-the-art hybrid varieties suitable for the Iranian market. Vaziri: “Enza Zaden's extensive research offers a wide range of high quality varieties. It also has Research & Development stations in various climate zones. Our country is large, and is hugely varied both geographically and in climate terms. There are plenty of growing areas, which each have their own character. To be able to offer growers in all these areas the right varieties, Behta also has to have a wide range of varieties.” Vaziri continues: “Enza Zaden is our most important partner. We draw up long-term visions and annual plans together, setting objectives and indicating how we want to achieve them. Our joint motto, ‘How to make each other better’, forms the guiding thread in this.” International orientation Dr Ali Vaziri tells his story from Turkey, where he and members of his team are undertaking a several-day tour with Regional Manager Roelof Tempel and Area Manager Amir Lahsaeizadeh. In addition to visits to the Enza Zaden R&D station, trials and growers, there are also catch-ups with the management of the Turkish seed distributor AG Tohum, also a partner of Enza Zaden. “Exchanging knowledge, views and experiences with companies like AG Tohum who are working in comparable markets, is very useful to sharpen our business concepts and approach. Many growing areas in Turkey and Iran are fairly similar,” explains the Deputy Manager. “Another similarity is that Turkey is making a comparable transition with more modern varieties and growing techniques. Here in fact it’s ahead of Iran, and this is a great learning experience for us.” Double growth figures The long-term and tight relationship certainly has been beneficial to both companies. Vaziri notes that the family company’s sales have been growing in double figures year on year. That’s no mean feat in a country where farmers and horticulturists like to stick to familiar varieties – often local ones – which generally deliver fairly predictable performance. “Nevertheless they are gradually becoming aware that they can achieve better results with modern varieties and The Partnership | 13

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