An agronomist graduate of the University of Leuven, Belgium, Kris De Smet has been working at Koppert Biological Systems since 1998, where he started as an Export Manager for North and South-America. In this function he supported the USA and Canada team in their goals of expanding the consolidated greenhouse business and to look for new market opportunities, initiated market developments and started a local subsidiary in Mexico, and expanded the business throughout South America.
In 2005, Kris became Commercial Director of Koppert Spain. In 2007, greenhouses in Almeria province experienced an unprecedented boom in biological control, after the main export markets refused produce from Almeria due to excessive pesticide residue exceedance. This was a major turning point in the general acceptance of beneficial insects and mites in Mediterranean mid-tech greenhouse structures. Several other crops and markets followed in the years after.
Since 2015, Kris is the Koppert’s Business Unit Manager Europe. His responsibilities include the strategical, organizational and commercial development of the Koppert business in Europe, through 10 subsidiaries and local distributors, guided by export managers. Europe is the home continent of Koppert where it all started, and demand for the company’s biological solutions continues to rise. Future outlooks are positive as consumers and retailers become more demanding with respect to food security and environmental protection.
About Koppert Biological Systems
Koppert is the market leader in biological systems for integrated crop management. Crop solutions are provided through supplying pollinators, beneficial insects, mites and nematodes, microbial products, bio-stimulants and associated products. The company’s international team of field consultants advise on Koppert’s system approach, which is fundamental to reach their goal to make crops healthier and harvests more secure. The Koppert solutions come from Nature. Koppert is a Partner with Nature.
Historically Koppert has grown from the greenhouse business, but is now rapidly expanding its activities towards outdoor agricultural crops.
Session Details
Breakout Session 3A:
Stop Residue Exceedance
Date: 07 November 2018
Time: 09:00 – 10:00 am
Location: Plenary Hall
About the Session
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices have successfully been introduced as an integral part of GLOBALG.A.P. to reduce the use of chemical crop protection products. However, legal requirements to limit the maximum residue levels of pesticides have not fully been harmonized and the agricultural sector has not been successful in completely avoiding occasional incidences of exceedances. With the introduction of consumer labels, retailers and brand owners as well as GLOBALG.A.P. are acquiring more accountability with respect to exceedances.
A number of Residue Monitory Systems (RMS) have been operating successfully in many markets. The panelists of this session will discuss current challenges and opportunities to stop residue exceedance in the light of new on-site testing kits, the initial introduction of zero residue programs, the harmonization efforts among RMS, and the ability of sharing residue testing data in a responsible way.
