b'PARTNER CONTENTSuccessful Joint Ventures Thrive on RespectBY: DAVID PEARSONW hen Limagrain started way back in 1965, we were a farmerthe world and today have joint ventures in Africa, Australia, China, cooperative servicing a relatively small geographic area.Europe and North America.As we grew over our first 35 years, we still operated solelyOne partnership we are especially proud of is with Seed Co, the in Europe. Then, in 2000, we formed our first joint venture in thelargest seed company in Africa. Seed Co got its start in Zimbabwe United States. Since then, weve grown in multiple directions andand now operates in many African countries. When Limagrain now have 13 highly valued partnerships located in diverse geo- became a shareholder, we became active in the companys day-to-graphic regions around the world. What have we learned aboutday strategy and together we created additional joint ventures in partnerships over the last 25 years? A whole lot, actually.South Africa as well as in West and Central Africa. The first and perhaps most important question is: why partner?Our success in Africa may surprise some readers. Thats because Although Limagrain is a relatively large company, there are timesmost European and North Americans impression of Africa centers when even a company as large as ours has to admit that we arenton three key things: corruption, poverty, and war. That perception, big enough to do everything, know everything or have everythingfed by media headlines, isnt the whole reality of Africa at all. Its it takes to succeed in every region. So, it makes sense for us toeasy to forget that Africa comprises 54 countries, many of which form collaborative, strategic partnerships in order to meet researchare engaged in a broad range of agricultural endeavors. In sub-Sa-or business objectives. Our move into partnerships didnt happenharan Africa, for instance, we do business with about 25 million overnight. It has been an organic process and one thats acceleratedsmall farmers who typically each buy a single 2.5 lb (1 kg) bag of over the past 15 years. seed annually. Our South Africa farmers, on the other hand, use While joint ventures have proven pivotal to Limagrainsa high-tech, large farm model thats virtually identical to the one growth and reach, working with partners isnt for everyone and itsseen in Canada and the US. not always an easy process. Joint ventures can be complicated andEach region has a unique way of doing things but, at the end they can take a lot of management time. I like to compare them toof the day, farmers across the globe need high performance seed in marriages: you need to go into partnership with your eyes open; youorder to maximize their yields. We form joint ventures with regional must show your partner a huge amount of respect; and you have toseed companies to ensure they have what they need to succeed.be willing, at times, to compromise. Joint ventures dont suit everyIf I have learned one thing over the years, its that when con-company, but theyve been an excellent fit for us.templating a joint venture, you need to be sure that youre partner-Why do partnerships work for us? Limagrain started as aing with a company thats wired for collaboration. Companies, like farmers cooperative in 1965. We are owned by farmers and led bypeople, have their own personalities and cultures. Some are lone farmers.Simply put, cooperation is in our DNA. We have builtwolves. Others are driven by cooperation. Partner with the right our business by acquiring or partnering with seed companies aroundcompany and everyone wins.SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 41'