The dynamics of pooled research

Pro Pulse, a new company dedicated to breeding pulses, has major ambitions from 2022. In July 2021, Lidea and TOP Semence, the main actors in research into variety breeding for seed production and marketing of pulses, announced that they were combining their variety breeding activities in a single company: Pro Pulse. The new company aims to develop new varieties of chickpea, lentil and dry bean.

By pooling Lidea and Top Semence’s breeding facilities and genetic resources, the company will be in a position to satisfy farmers’ needs and consumers’ demands more rapidly, while also meeting the objectives of the Protein Plan⁽¹⁾.

The objective of this alliance is to increase the companies’ capacity to offer varieties of pulses (chickpea, lentil, dry bean) which are better adapted to meet:

• consumers’ expectations, in terms of their nutritional requirements and ethical and environmental concerns;
• producers’ agronomic expectations, in terms of yield, stress tolerance (particularly water stress), disease tolerance, ease of harvesting, etc;
• manufacturers’ expectations, by taking into account the markets and technological needs of the various outlets.

Varieties resulting from this research will be preferentially allocated to both companies, which will both be responsible for their production and marketing. Each partner will also retain ownership of the varieties already registered or in the process of being registered. 

Governance: 

Didier Nury - CEO of TOP Semence and President of Pro Pulse

Jean-Marc Ferullo – Head of Research at Lidea and Director of Pro Pulse

Further information on the issues surrounding pulses: 

Europe is currently the continent that consumes and produces the lowest quantity of pulses. The alliance of these actors aims to secure a strong position on this market. The FAO estimates that global demand for proteins will increase by 40% by 2030 and the trend is towards an increase in the consumption of vegetable proteins, supported by an increasingly comprehensive offer. As alternatives to animal proteins, pulses have multiple nutritional, environmental and economic advantages. In France, their production is increasing sharply, as is the case for chickpeas, which have seen their surface area multiply by 3.8 over 3 years (36,706 ha in 2019).

(1) The aim of the Protein Plan is to increase France’s independence in relation to its supply of plant proteins for human and animal consumption. It is also an environmental issue, as the increase in surface area of legumes makes it possible to reduce nitrogenous fertilisers and improve soil quality.

Discover our pulses portfolio: here!