Innovation key for future of UK agriculture, reflects Corteva’s retiring UK & Ireland Country Leader
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The need for innovation will be key for the continued success of UK agriculture, Corteva Agriscience’s Adrian Gough has said ahead of his retirement in March.
Corteva Agriscience announced in October 2020 that Adrian was to step down from his role of UK & Ireland Country Leader with William Corrigan stepping up to the role from 1 January 2021.
Adrian has been with the company for a remarkable 36 years but believes he is handing over the reins at an exciting and dynamic time.
“I am very happy to be passing the baton to Will at such a pivotal time for Corteva with a capable team in place and a great pipeline”, Adrian says.
Having built up the current team since the merger of Dow AgroSciences and DuPont in 2017, Adrian has observed how colleagues have grown and developed within the business.
“I am particularly pleased in the breadth of expertise and experience we now have in the organisation. As well as recruiting people from within the agricultural industry to complement the skills of team members from our heritage companies, we have brought in people from outside of the industry in order give a greater diversity of thinking which I believe is critical.”
Adrian grew up on a large farming estate in East Anglia before studying agriculture and forging a career in the industry. He joined DuPont in 1984 and has held a multitude of roles across sales, marketing, planning and business management at home and abroad. As a result, he has witnessed many changes in UK agriculture but insists farmers have always been adaptable and innovative to meet the challenge of producing healthy, affordable food.
He said: “It is a dynamic time politically with the UK now out of the EU, and a new agricultural system focused on improving biodiversity and the environment, as well as agronomically with new technologies likely to play an increasingly important role”.
“The relentless drive to innovate will be key for the continued success of UK agriculture. Corteva is extremely well-placed to contribute by continuing to provide novel solutions derived from its work in the fields of genetics, crop protection, biologicals, seed applied technologies, and digital agriculture”.
“This year, in the UK, Corteva will introduce Pioneer PT303, a top yielding Winter Oilseed Rape hybrid with tolerance to Sclerotinia, and has just launched Inatreq, a naturally derived, novel site of action cereal fungicide offering outstanding Septoria control, in Ireland. These are two of the most recent examples of important innovation from Corteva.
“With further products in the pipeline, and the ability to provide integrated solutions because of its broad research and development activities, I am sure Corteva will continue to strongly support UK agriculture as farmers address future challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead, and Corteva will go from strength to strength under Will’s leadership”.
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