b'Telcann, a leading cannabisBhandari. and manufacturer of high- research institutions and cultivator as we move forwardThis was a joint effort byquality, plant-based foodfood-tech companies to drive in bringing highly precisemany scientists in our teamproducts, has announced thattechnological development in and stable medical-cannabiswho played a critical role init is set to open Europes larg- order to improve the quality products to the market.Withgenerating proper data, andest plant-based meat produc- and lower the cost of plant-this agreement Canonic hasmaking a strong case fortion facility in the UK. The newbased meat products. Plant completed a fundamental ele- these varieties to the releasefactory will enable efficient& Bean today revealed new ment of its production infra- committee,says Roshanproduct manufacture andstrategic partnerships with structure towards becoming aBasnet, head of the Nationaldistribution across Europe,global food product devel-commercial medical cannabisWheat Research Programhelping brands to meet fast- opment company, Griffith company. based in Bhairahawa, Nepal,growing demand for plant- Foods; specialised manufac-who was instrumental inbased meat. turer and ingredient supplier releasing three of the varie- Among Plant & Beanof premium non-GMO soy STATUS NEPAL ties, including Borlaug 2020. customers, large-scale pro- proteins, Gushen; and world-On December 11, 2020, theWe are very glad thatduction is acknowledged asrenowned research institu-Nepal Agricultural Researchour hard work has paid offessential to removing the costtions, Wageningen University Council (NARC) announcedfor our countrys farmers,barrier that currently prevents& Research (The Netherlands), the release of six new wheatsays Dhruba Thapa, chief andmainstream consumers fromand the food and sustainabil-varieties for multiplication andwheat breeder at NARCsbuying plant-based meatity focused Singapore Institute distribution to the countrysNational Plant Breeding andproducts. By producing atof Technology.wheat farmers, offeringGenetics Research Centre. scale, locally, these brandsTodays announcement increased production forNepal produces 1.96 mil- can also significantly shortenunderscores our commitment Nepals nearly one millionlion tons of wheat on moresupply chains, resulting into repair what is a broken food wheat farmers and boostedthan 750,000 hectares, butsignificant cost-savings. system, says Plant & Bean nutrition for its 28 millionits wheat farmers are mainlyLocated in Boston,CEO, Edwin Bark. Right now, wheat consumers. smallholders with less thanLincolnshire, the 6565% of consumers do not The varieties, which1-hectare holdings and limitedacre/263,000 m2 site, willeat plant-based meats due are derived from materi- access to inputs or mecha- have a planned initial capac- to price and quality. With our als developed by thenization. In addition, most ofity of 55,000 tonnes, and willtwo-pronged approach, we International Maize andthe popular wheat varietiesprovide sub-scale companies,believe we are best placed to Wheat Improvement Centergrown in the country havelarger international brandsmake the meaningful change (CIMMYT), include five bredbecome susceptible to newand retailers with a fully certi- required to tackle these issues. for elevated levels of thestrains of wheat rust diseases. fied European manufactur- With our progressive global crucial micronutrient zinc, andThe new varietiesZincing platform to help themmanufacturing strategy, Borlaug 100, a variety wellGahun 1, Zinc Gahun 2, Bheri- meet growing demand forbrands will finally have the known for being high yielding,Ganga, Himganga, Khumal- plant-based meat productsmeans to scale high-volume drought- and heat-resilient,Shakti and Borlaug 2020and accelerate internationalproduct ranges in order to and resistant to wheat blast, were bred and tested usingexpansion. lower the price-point for con-as well as high in zinc. a fast-track approach, withIn a move to estab- sumers. As regards product Releasing six varieties inCIMMYT and NARC scientistslish the worlds first globalquality, we are making huge one attempt is historic newsmoving material from trials inplant-based manufacturingstrides in improving the taste, for Nepal, says CIMMYT AsiaCIMMYTs research station inplatform, Plant & Bean willtexture and appearance of Regional Representative andMexico to multiple locationsreplicate the new UK site withplant-based meatbringing Principal Scientist Arun Joshi. in Nepal and other Targetproduction facilities in the U.S.together the brightest minds It is an especially impres- Population of Environmentsnext year, and Asia in 2022. in the food industry to rein-sive achievement by the(TPEs) for testing.As well as manufacturing,vent the way we make plant-NARC breeders and tech- Source: CIMMYT the other key pillar of Plantbased meat at the ingredient nicians during a time of& Beans business model isand process level. SWCOVID-related challengesits ecosystem of collabora-and restrictions, says NARCSTATUS UK tive innovation, which brings Executive Director DeepakPlant & Bean, a developertogether leading global FEBRUARY 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /73'