Hazera’s newly appointed CEO reflects on Growing in the seed industry

A conversation with Hazera’s new CEO, Ofer Peleg

In his two and half years as Deputy CEO, and in leadership roles at dynamic global companies, Ofer Peleg has gained significant experience in business and agriculture. Now, as he steps into the CEO-role at Hazera, Ofer reflects on lessons learned and looks ahead to what the future holds.

“It’s been a fascinating 2.5 years, in which we’ve worked to optimize our efficiencies and leverage our capabilities”, Ofer begins. “I find the most valuable lessons to be this industry’s innovative nature and strong focus on sustainability.  That is what is leading us to find better solutions every day. I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Growing Together
“For me, the customer is front and center,” Ofer explains his priorities and his plans to strengthen Hazera’s focus on growing together with customers worldwide, and with the growers in a diverse global community in more than 130 countries.

“We’re putting great effort into adding value for them with our solutions, such as improving our loyalty programs, service level agreements and seed products to meet the needs of clients in different markets.”

“There’s a strong sense of partnership, professionalism and community within the organization. It is evident that our employees enjoy what they do and go above and beyond.” Ofer highly values the input he receives from employees. “It’s important to me to always be listening to what they have to say. I’ll admit that I can be demanding as a manager, but the greatest demands I make, are for myself.” To continue moving forward, Ofer says, Hazera as an organization needs to be flexible, agile and strongly focused on product quality. “By fostering a strong sense of ownership in everything we do, we can push our organization to excellence.”

Building on a century of growth
With Hazera celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025, Ofer takes a look at the future. “I’m honored that we’re part of the Limagrain Group, , together with our sister companies Vilmorin.Mikado and HM.Clause: the number one vegetable seed company in the world. Together, I see us continuing to play a huge role in the successes of the vegetable seed industry. And, most importantly, in the successes of the growers that we’ve been serving for nearly a century. We look forward to serving them for the century to come!” #Growingtogether


Ofer Peleg, Hazera’s new CEO

About Ofer Peleg
Ofer joined Hazera in 2022 as deputy CEO after working for four years at Netafim (precision Irrigation global leader) as Vice-President, Global Supply Chain. Ofer had also previously worked 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, most prominently at Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Helgaard Dreyer’s Success with Eglantine: A Prime Example of Quality Genetics and Expert Farming Practices

If you have ever needed an excellent example of what quality genetics, along with good farming practices can achieve together – look no further.

Today the spotlight shines on Helgaard Dreyer from Rondom Trust, Vredendal. Helgaard has many years of experience growing vegetables in high-tech tunnels. To him, the market quality of his product is extremely important. His main growing crop is peppers – and Hazera introduced him to just the right variety that exceeded his expectations.

Eglantine is a beautiful yellow pepper variety from Hazera Seeds. Helgaard has tried many different varieties, but the past few seasons Eglantine was his pepper variety of choice. He has expressed his keen satisfaction with our product and service. Namely, the exceptional colour, high yield and best of all – the outstanding shelf life. Eglantine has thick walls, and this ensures the long-lasting shelf life.

Not only is Eglantine stunningly yellow, but it is also a strong pepper that has the ability to produce during seasonal difficulties. The best time to plant the variety is late June after the season has turned, giving Helgaard a peak in December with great yield and prices for his crop.

Helgaard is incredibly pleased with the quick service and knowledgeable technical support that he receives from his partners in growth at Hazera Seeds.

Thank you Helgaard for being a prime example of how we can keep #GrowingTogether!”

Hazera’s International Open Days: Showcasing our global portfolio to our partners & customers worldwide

Hazera’s International Open Days: Showcasing our global portfolio to our partners & customers worldwide
-Visit us & connect your senses-

Warmenhuizen, August 22nd – As Hazera, a leader in vegetable breeding and innovation, we are excited to announce our annual Open Days event.
From Tuesday, September 24th to Thursday, September 26th. Growers, chain partners, and industry experts from around the world will converge at Hazera’s field in Warmenhuizen, The Netherlands

We are excited to grow together with you during our International Open Days. Connect your senses and experience our global range of varieties.

Hear our experts talk about our crops in the field and on display. Discover the latest techniques in mechanical planting and harvesting in our demonstrations.

What to Expect:

Open field varieties showcase: Visitors will have the unique opportunity to explore Hazera’s latest vegetable varieties. From all types of cabbages to leek, carrot, sweet corn and lettuce. In collaboration with HM.Clause and Vilmorin- Mikado. These varieties are meticulously developed to address challenges such as disease resistance, storage quality, yield, appearance, and taste. Our commitment to healthy and flavorful vegetables drives our continuous research and improvement efforts.

Innovative concepts: Hazera’s Open Days will unveil innovative vegetable concepts that prioritize taste, health, and ease of use. Notably, the extensive range of our ToBRFV tomato varieties and successful radish portfolio.

Fruited crops assortment: Inside the pavilion, we will showcase our tomato, cucumber and watermelon varieties. Visitors can explore the latest developments and innovations within these crops.

Guided tours and demonstrations:
Our product managers will be offering you guided tours showing you our latest varieties and sharing with you the latest information & insights. There will also be planting and harvesting demonstrations on the demo field in collaboration with Verhoest & Agriplant.

Event Details:
Dates: 24-25-26 September 2024. From 10.00 – 17.00
Location: Kanaalweg 16 Warmenhuizen, the Netherlands
More information:
www.hazera.com/opendays
The International Open Days are organized in collaboration with HM.Clause & Vilmorin-Mikado.

Our Unbe-leaf-able Leafy Range!

Hazera South Africa is excited to present our leafy range in partnership with Vilmorin – it is simply unbe-leaf-able!

Why is it unbe-leafable?
The lettuce varieties in our expanded range has been especially chosen for the South African climate. Year-round production is essential in the economy, and as always – we want to supply our growers with the best genetics at the best prices.

What are the innovations in development?
Cultivated on all 5 continents, salads are enjoyed by consumers for its health benefits and ease of preparation. And let’s not forget the Convenience and Fresh markets who are developing new ways of consumption such as salad snacking and salad bars. It is also important to growers for whom it may be a strategic crop.

To offer products with added value and originality to our growers, the Vilmorin range diversifies and complements our existing portfolio of leafy greens – giving you more to choose from.

More and more growers are looking to products that are adapted for hydroponics – why?

Hydroponics and vertical farming are gaining popularity around the world. Our growers are increasingly becoming interested in finding crop varieties that have a proven track record in a controlled environment system. We are able to meet this need – an excellent advantage of being part of the Limagrain group. This enables us to provide a rich portfolio of leafy green varieties adapted to hydroponic greenhouses and vertical farms, enabling year-round production in various climates and systems.

What is the advantage of our hydroponic product range ?

It isn’t necessarily about developing new varieties, but more about identifying varieties which produce uniform and compact greens with a good color intensity, rapid growth and tolerance to certain physiological disorders.

Hazera South Africa’s advantage over its competitors in the market is the wide selection on offer. We have a full range of leafy varieties such as iceberg, romaine, oakleaf, butter, cos, etc. We can provide these typologies for hydroponic cultivation.

Here’s to #growingtogether!

Meet our Leader

Corniel is the ground beneath our feet, the music to our beet.
We asked him a couple of questions, just to see what makes him tick.

Q: Where does your love for agriculture and farming come from? Where did you begin?
A: My love for Agriculture started as a young boy on my uncle, Riaan Hudson’s Farm. There I had the opportunity to experience first-hand what farming is all about. Farming is a passion and not a career choice. Observing and learning from my uncle made me appreciate the lifestyle of a farmer. As a past farmer, I understand and I have empathy with the many challenges our growers face every day.

Q: What crop is your favourite and why?
A: I don’t really have a favorite crop. All the different crops have their own unique challenges and rewards which I enjoy. If I must choose one, it will be carrots. When a grower harvests his carrot crop and seeing the anticipation, joy and appreciation of a good crop is so rewarding. You can see it in their eyes that they are humbled and thankful when a crop is successful.

Q: What is your goal for Hazera’s future?
A: My goal is for closer collaboration with our growers by providing them with great genetics and exceptional service. I would also like to see the growth of all our employees in their career development and personal capacity.

Q: What do you value or hold most dear?
A: My faith. It is a great blessing to be part of agriculture and share the lifestyle with our growers and employees.

Q: Any words for our customers?
A: Hazera will continue to improve, innovate, and assist our growers. I would like to thank our growers for their loyal support during 2023. We at Hazera wish you a prosperous and a happy new year. May the new season be filled with many blessing for you and you families.

Musico put to the test!

Ruaan Lerm (Product Developer), Wynand Oelofsen (Sales Representative) along with Anton van der Merwe (National Sales Manager) got together to evaluate one of our carrot varieties against 15 of our competitors in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province.

The evaluation took place in the Balgowan area, at the Fourbas 23 Farm. Musico was put to the test during the winter time slot.
Planted on the 11th of March just after the rainy season, the crop was exposed to rain and cool conditions throughout its growth period.

Harvest day was on the 1st of September 2022. ‘Evaluation blocks’ of 1 m2 were identified for all varieties at 7 and 9 m into the field.
The varieties were packed into rows where they were planted for the farmer to inspect the carrots. The top five varieties were then taken in crates to Mr Manny Salgado’s packhouse in the Dargle area. All the varieties were evaluated and presented to the farmer.

Musico proved to be the winner, not only in yield but also the pack out quality. This variety has shown that it is trustworthy and reliable, but the slot is vital, by getting this right we can guide you to harvesting the optimum carrot.
Musico has many benefits and is adaptable throughout South Africa.

We at Hazera would like to guide our growers interested in growing Musico, step by step from sow to harvest.

“Thanks, I know what works,” the words of Mr Manny Salgado after presenting the final trial results to him.

A special word of thanks to Mr. Salgado for nurturing this crop to excellence with professionalism and outstanding farm management.