Brussels, Belgium
June 15, 2017
From L-R: The session was moderated by Nick Perkins, Lead Technical Advisor- Development, Communication & Extension at CABI. Panelists included Washington Otieno from Plantwise, Henry Msatilomo from the Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi, Maaike Groot from East-West Seed, and Roberto Ridolfi, Director of EuropeAid. The panel discussion takes place at the EU Dev Days, the leading forum for development organized by the European Commission.
Joining a panel discussion led by the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) at the EU Dev Days, Maaike Groot, company representative of East-West Seed in Europe, emphasized the importance of partnerships in driving farmer development.
“Local partnerships are crucial for scaling up our business,” said Ms. Groot. “We are here and willing to partner. We look for potential partners. Public private partnerships work together for the benefit of the farmer.”
“Our business model allows us to be commercially viable only after long term investment. We need profit to reinvest in new markets. Knowledge Transfer is part of our business model but is too big a task to do on our own. That is why we actively seek partnerships with other actors that have interest in increasing food production: government, NGOs and private companies that facilitate the opening up of markets not only for ourselves but also for competitors and other agro-input suppliers,” she added.
Ms Groot presented examples of successful partnerships in Tanzania and Indonesia, where East-West Seed is active in capacitating farmers and increasing the supply of vegetables.
In Tanzania, East-West Seed partnered with Wageningen University, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Dutch seed company Rijk Zwaan for the SEVIA program. SEVIA (Seeds of Expertise for the Vegetable Industry of Africa) aims to develop the African vegetable sector by breeding improved African vegetable varieties for farmers, testing varieties and demonstrating their performance on farmers’ fields. In addition, the program focuses on adapted technical innovations in order to enhance productivity and to increase farmers’ income.
In Indonesia, the Yayasan Bina Tani Sejahtera (YBTS), a local foundation set up by East-West Seed, partnered with international development organization Cordaid for an “Integrated capacity building for farmers’ livelihood improvement” project. This project works with farmers’ groups to provide interventions aimed at improving farmers’ livelihood and building their capacity to cope with drought and climate change. The project resulted in increased productivity leading to economic gains for the farmer and more vegetables for his family’s consumption. It also resulted in improved knowledge on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), water management, conservation, and community building.
About East-West Seed
East-West Seed is market leader for tropical vegetable seeds in Asia and expanding rapidly in Africa and Latin America. The privately-owned company has played an important role in the development and improvement of tropical vegetable varieties in Southeast Asia and other tropical countries. When Dutch seedsman Simon Groot founded the company in 1982, he set out to improve the income of smallholder farmers in the tropics through high-quality seeds. East-West Seed develops vegetable varieties that are adapted to tropical markets and growing conditions and generate increased yield and productivity for farmers. In addition, the company educates farmers and helps them to maximize their yield and income through better knowledge on vegetable production.
East-West Seed is one of the 10 largest vegetable seed companies in the world, with a leading position in the most important Southeast Asian countries and rapid expansion into India, Myanmar, Vietnam and parts of Africa and South America. In 2016 it ranked number 1 on the Access to Seeds Global Index for Vegetable Seed Companies and on the Regional Index for Eastern Africa.
East-West Seed is based in Thailand. The company employs over 5,000 people and has 15 R&D establishments in 7 countries. The company exports to over 60 countries in tropical areas of the world and serves over 18 million farmers around the world. www.eastwestseed.com
About the EU Dev Days
The European Development Days (EDD) bring the development community together each year to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
In 2017, the the EU Dev Days are organized around three main themes: Investing in People and Planet, Investing in Prosperity and Investing in Peace and Partnership. The three themes are directly linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the different topics highlighted during each session will provide insights into the most pressing issues facing the global development community and the various approaches to dealing with these.
About CABI
CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International) is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. Its approach involves putting information, skills and tools into people's hands.
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