A trip through the countryside of Nevele, near Ghent, takes us to the former CropDesign (BASF) high-tech greenhouse site. The site is being revived into the VIB Agro-Incubator in collaboration with ILVO, the Flanders Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries, and Food Research. Both institutes team up to upgrade and expand the technical greenhouse installations and to run the facility. The ambition of the VIB Agro-Incubator is to set up partnerships in the agro sector and expand the existing agribiotech ecosystem by supporting entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. The Agro-Incubator provides access to their high-tech greenhouse equipment and creates, together with the expertise of VIB and ILVO, an attractive support package for established and starting agribiotech companies. Especially young entrepreneurs will benefit from the Agro-Incubator’s mentorship, enabling them to grow in the field. With the partnerships, the VIB Agro-Incubator will be the center for pioneering crop development focusing on sustainable agriculture.

Big agribiotech players from around the globe soon got interested in CropDesign’s infrastructure and know-how. The ability to transform crops with a specific gene of interest and subsequently monitor growth under various stress conditions constituted the basis for many collaborations, among others with DuPont. In 2004, Dr. Johan Cardoen became CEO further developing the company strategy which led to the acquisition of CropDesign by BASF Plant Science in 2006 and a major collaboration with Monsanto. From then, the company gradually expanded its repertoire of phenotyping capabilities in key crops such as maize, wheat, soy, cotton, and canola.

In 2016, BASF restructured its agricultural biotechnology portfolio. Projects on rice yield were discontinued while other projects in maize and soy progressed beyond the gene discovery phase. Although this led to the closure of the BASF Research & Development department based in Ghent, they maintained the phenotyping infrastructure, team, and capability. When BASF finalized the acquisition of several businesses and assets from Bayer Crop Science in 2018; the facility in Nevele became redundant. This created a potential opportunity for the existing agribiotech ecosystem in Flanders to extend their activities in automated phenotyping.

VIB is a prime source of scientific expertise, technology, and business innovation which led to the origin of many successful new agribiotech companies. VIB’s first spin-off, Devgen, started with an RNA interference (RNAi) screening platform to combat nematode infections and turned into a seed company that uses RNAi for agricultural applications. In 2012, Syngenta acquired Devgen and maintained its research & development activities in the Syngenta Ghent Innovation Center. Biotalys – formerly called AgroSavfe – develops biological pest control products based on the Nanobody® technology, and is currently commercializing its first product Evoca™ (discover the Biotalys origin story). More recent start-ups Aphea.bio and Protealis harness the power of bacteria to improve crop growth and yield. In this way, the agribiotech region in Ghent has grown over the years into a true ecosystem, full of talent and innovation. VIB-UGent Center of Plant Systems Biology (PSB) is one of the world-leading research centers in the field of plant science, not only catalyzing new ventures but also attracting collaborations with industry., including BASF. In 2021, VIB signed an agreement with BASF to acquire the site in Nevele and upgrade the facility. The strategic location in the center of the Flemish agribiotech cluster in Ghent will lead to unique partnerships with research centers and companies. Furthermore, VIB intends to make the technology available and, provide expertise and access to the capabilities to support start-ups and entrepreneurs.