Fat-Agro, an enterprise within the Bavaria group of companies, recently hosted Rudolf Schwartzel, an international seed potato expert and representative of the Swiss research center Agroscope, for a working visit. The trip allowed the specialist to see the results of a long-standing collaboration that began back in 2011, when Schwartzel advised the company during the creation of its breeding and seed production center. During the visit, Schwartzel reviewed the current development of Fat-Agro’s seed production division and conducted practical training sessions for vegetable growers, agronomists, and company specialists. Participants diagnosed various potato diseases and studied how symptoms manifest across different varieties, with the expert providing detailed guidance on viral and bacterial infections. These insights will help Fat-Agro’s specialists promptly identify potential issues in seed plantings. Schwartzel is also taking part in establishing a bank of healthy potato varieties, a project Fat-Agro is implementing together with Dr. Elena Oves, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Lorch Federal Potato Research Center.
Collaboration will continue beyond Russia’s borders. In the near future, Fat-Agro specialists together with Rudolf Schwartzel will travel to Armenia to hold a “Field Day” for local farmers, hosted jointly with the company’s partner Agros Plus, with whom an agreement has been signed to promote Fat-Agro’s potato varieties – Sadon, Sprinter, and Alania – in the Republic of Armenia. The largest seed potato breeding and production center in Europe was opened in North Ossetia in 2023 on the initiative of Vyacheslav Bitarov, founder of the Bavaria group of companies, to produce original seed potatoes. Fat-Agro is a state-of-the-art production and laboratory complex featuring a diagnostic lab capable of detecting all known pathogens, as well as greenhouse modules for growing mini-tubers in two production cycles per year. The enterprise annually produces over 1 million in vitro micro-plants and 5 million mini-tubers. Its products are in demand by major national processors, leading suppliers of commercial potatoes to federal and regional retail chains, agricultural holdings across various Russian regions, as well as in Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.
