2017
OUR YEAR IN REVIEW
A sustainable food future with smallholder farmers at the center
WE ARE EAST-WEST SEED.
Copyright © 2018 by East-West Seed All rights reserved. This report or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of East-West Seed. 50/1 Moo 2, Sainoi-Bangbuathong Road, Sainoi, Nonthaburi, Thailand Printed in Thailand. Managing editor: Francine Sayoc Design and layout: Kunlapus Pounganukrou The photos you see in this publication were selected from entries to “Capture EWS”, our 35th anniversary Photo Contest for East-West Seed staff. Additional photo credits: Marlies Wessels
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CONTENTS 04 Introduction and Company profile 04 - A sustainable food future with smallholder farmers at the center 06 - Mission & Vision 07 - Core values 08 - East-West Seed around the world 10 - Our company through the years 12 - Home Runs 14 - Infographics: East-West Seed in 2017
18 Message from the Supervisory Board 22 Message from the Board of Management 24 Serving Farmers 24 - The Great EWS Journey 25 - Crop guides 26 - Record-breaking field day 27 - Farmer story: Omere Marion (Ghana)
28 Learning & Innovation
32 Passionate Teams
28 - Innovation Olympics
32 - Leadership succession
29 - SNG Agriculture Scholarship
34 - Marigolds for His Majesty
30 - Mekong Delta partnership
35 - Taking root in Cambodia
31 - Crop Wiki
36 - New leadership in the Philippines and Myanmar
A SUSTAINABLE FOOD FUTURE WITH SMALLHOLDER FARMERS AT THE CENTER Today’s global food challenges call for sustainable solutions. We believe smallholder farmers are the answer. With hunger being a daily reality for 800 million people and our natural world under constant pressure, we must find ways to increase food production in a sustainable way and enhance food security for all. The UN Sustainable Development Goal to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” (SDG2) recognizes the connection between sustainable agriculture and empowering small farmers.
4 -- 2017 Year in Review
SDG2: Zero Hunger goals •
By 2030: Double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
•
By 2030: Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. Source: sustainabledevelopment.un.org
East-West Seed contributes to the attainment of SDG2 by providing good quality seeds of improved vegetable varieties that increase the productivity and income of smallholder farmers and help improve the availability of nutritious food for a growing population. We also provide farmers knowledge on better farming practices to support a successful and sustainable livelihood.
2017 Year in Review -- 5
MISSION & VISION
Our mission is to provide innovative products and services that will help increase the income of vegetable farmers, and promote the growth and quality of the tropical vegetable industry. Our vision is to be the best tropical vegetable seed company in the world.
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CORE VALUES
SERVING FARMERS
LEARNING AND INNOVATION
PASSIONATE TEAMS
We serve farmers. We are the farmers’ champion. We listen closely to them and we understand their needs. We offer our best solutions and deliver quality in everything we do to improve their yield and income.
We cultivate ideas and harvest innovation. Research excites us. We explore novel approaches, apply new technologies, and build an environment for creativity whether in the laboratory, in the field or in the office.
We aim for excellence in serving farmers by constantly challenging ourselves and the team to excel. As a team we can achieve more than what an individual can. We work together, trust each other, care for and respect each other’s unique and diverse talents.
2017 Year in Review -- 7
EAST-WEST SEED
AROUND THE WORLD
SPAIN
UNITED STATES
MOROCCO ALGERIA MEXICO
GUATEMALA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BELIZE HONDURAS
BARBADOS
SENEGAL BURKINA FASO
EL SALVADOR COSTA RICA PANAMA
SURINAME
COLOMBIA
NIGERIA
PERU BRAZIL
East-West Seed subsidiary companies Area of Distribution
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IVORY COAST GHANA BENIN
MALI
T
ITALY GREECE
AFGHANISTAN
TURKEY
SYRIA LEBANON JORDAN
TUNISIA LIBYA
JAPAN
CHINA
IRAN NEPAL
PAKISTAN
EGYPT
TAIWAN SAUDI ARABIA
SUDAN
YEMEN
OMAN INDIA
CONGO
SRI LANKA
ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE ZIMBABWE
CAMBODIA
PHILIPPINES
BRUNEI MALAYSIA SINGAPORE
TANZANIA ANGOLA
MYANMAR THAILAND
ETHIOPIA UGANDA KENYA
HONGKONG LAOS VIETNAM
BANGLA DESH
INDONESIA MAURITIUS REUNION ISLAND AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AFRICA
NEW ZEALAND
2017 Year in Review -- 9
OUR COMPANY THROUGH THE YEARS Philippines Establishment of East-West Seed Co. Inc. Philippines First trials in Hortanova Farm Batangas
Thailand Establishment of East West Seed Co. Ltd in Nonthaburi Thailand First trials at Lert Phan Farm, Chiang Mai Philippines First varieties released
Philippines First successful commercial vegetable hybrid (bittergourd) developed in Southeast Asia
1983
1982
1984
Thailand Establishment of Hortigenetics Research (SE Asia) Ltd. headquarters in Chiangmai Establishment of East West Seed International Ltd. in Nonthaburi as export vehicle and regional liaison company
1997
Philippines First trials at Linda Vista Farm, Bulacan
Vietnam First hybrid released (tomato) Indonesia Plant pathology and tissue cell culture laboratory opens
1996
1998 Thailand Plant pathology and tissue cell culture laboratory opens
1999
2000
Thailand Establishment of Green & Clean Vegetable Ltd. in Pak Chong for seedling production
2002
Vietnam First trials at Cuchi Farm, Ho Chi Minh
Thailand Opening Corn Processing Plant (Suphanburi, Thailand) Philippines East-West Seed Philippines celebrates its 30th year
Vietnam Establishment of East-West Seed (Hai Mui Ten Do) Ltd., Binh Duong China Hortigenetics Agrisciences (Nanning) Co., Ltd. USA EWSY, INC.
2012
Cambodia Establishment of representative office in Siem Reap, Cambodia
2011
2013
Tanzania SEVIA public-private partnership launch Thailand East-West Seed Thailand celebrates its 30th year
2014 Guatemala Acquisition of Semillas Tropicales, Guatemala India East-West Seed India marks its first decade
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2015 Philippines Joint venture with Grow Group for seedling distribution Indonesia East-West Seed Indonesia celebrates its 25th year East-West Seed Foundation Established Group-wide foundation
Indonesia Incorporation of PT East West Seed Indonesia in West Java Indonesia First lowland trials, Surakarta, West Java
Thailand First varieties released Philippines First hybrid released Thailand First hybrid released
1986
1990
1987
Vietnam Establishment of East-West Seed (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. In Ho Chi Minh
1991 Indonesia First hybrid released (eggplant)
1992
1995
2003
2006 2008
2009
Indonesia First highland trials, Lembang, West Java
Thailand Establishment of Regional Operating Headquarters China Establishment of representative office and research station in Nanning, Guangxi
India Establishment of East West Seeds India Private Ltd. in Aurangabad, sales and marketing office
Myanmar Set up of a local company
1993
Indonesia First varieties released
2007 India Opening of processing plant Hong Kong Establishment of NaMa Genetics Trading Ltd.
Tanzania Afrisem breeding program founded with Rijk Zwaan Tanzania Establishment of East West Seed (Tanzania) Ltd. Philippines Farm Ready was set up for seedling production
2016 East-West Seed ranks #1 in the Access to Seeds Index Thailand New headquarters building opens in Bang Bua Thong
Myanmar Established fully owned company Cambodia Established fully owned distribution subsidiary
2017 - East-West Seed celebrates 35 years - 5-year Strategic Plan launched - Establishment of International Headquarters (IHQ) and International Trading Center (ITC) 2017 Year in Review -- 11
HOME RUNS Developing successful vegetable varieties for tropical markets over the last 35 years To help meet the world’s growing demand for food and nutrition and to improve the productivity of smallholder farmers, East-West Seed focuses on variety development of tropical vegetables. Our aim is to produce new, improved varieties with better yield, ability to thrive in changing conditions, and traits that are attractive to vegetable consumers. Over the years, we have developed some outstanding products that hit a homerun among farmers and consumers, and in many ways, transformed the market.
Undoubtedly the earliest breakthroughs of East-West Seed came with its bitter gourd hybrids for markets like the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and India. Jade Star was the first locally developed commercial vegetable hybrid in all of Southeast Asia. Sae Yid followed in 1987 in Thailand. Palee (2001), a dark skinned, long, spiny bitter gourd variety, made a lot of Indian farmers happy with its high yield and extended life span. Galactica (2008) and Mestisa (2012) provided much sought-after resistance to NMK, a virus that causes maleness.
1986 1988
Bitter gourd Jade Star The first locally developed commercial vegetable hybrid in all of Southeast Asia
Kangkong Baipai A overnight success for narrow “bamboo leaf” selections for kangkong
Pumpkin Arjuna A classic EWS success story with excellent fruit quality, stickiness and storability. Remains a strong variety after more than 30 years in the market
Kangkong Lert Phan Became the standard broad leaf kangkong selection in the market within a few years of introduction
1989 1987 Bitter gourd Sae Yid
Ridge gourd Hercules Tripled the ridge gourd markets in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka
Onion Red Pinoy Dominates the red creole market in the Philippines with 80-90% market share. Unbeatable stability and retains bulb quality up to 6 months in storage, allowing farmers to take advantage of shifting market prices
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2000
1991
Hot pepper Super Hot
1997 Short cucumber Micro C
Won a gold award at the “The Best of the Best Innovation Awards 2013” in Thailand
1999 1994 Short cucumber Lanna 5 Combined for the first time three qualities: downy mildew resistance, longer shelf life, and earliness
Kangkong Yodpai 9
“Boil it today, and it will still be tender tomorrow” is how the waxy corn varieties developed by East-West Seed would be described by sellers and consumers. Big White’s introduction in 2002 in Thailand signaled a tidal shift from OP to hybrid, with farmers quickly realizing the difference in yield and quality when using F1 seeds. Year after year, the market grew from 3 tons to 13 tons to 35 tons and so forth. East-West Seed continued to produce innovations in corn, including waxy sweet corn varieties Sweet White (2005) and Sweet Violet (2010), and a high yielding bicolor waxy corn called Violet White (2008).
Kangkong is a unique story of turning commodity into something more valuable to farmers. Up until the 90s, farmers were used to buying low germinating kangkong seeds in bulk, sold in nondescript brown bags at less than a dollar per kg. Because kangkong was often seen as a common, cheap vegetable, no one believed that growers would pay premium prices for better seeds. East-West Seed was the first company to see the value in improved seed quality with better germination (more than 80%) and uniformity. It introduced better selections like the broad leaf Lert Phan (1988), and the narrow leaf Bai Phai (1991) and Yod Phai 9 (1999) and sold them in attractive, quality packaging.
2009
2007 2012
2002 Waxy corn Big White
Tomato Diamante Max
Signaled a tidal shift from OP to hybrid, with corn farmers quickly realizing the difference in yield and quality
Transformed the market in the Philippines by stimulating production in areas that were not traditional growing areas for tomato
Bitter gourd Mestisa
Short cucumber Northern C
2005
2010 Sweet corn Sweet Violet
2001 2008
Bitter gourd Palee Dark skinned, long, spiny bitter gourd variety; widely successful in India for its high yield and extended life span
2014
Waxy corn Violet white Waxy corn Sweet White
Bitter gourd Galactica First NMK virus resistant hybrid bitter gourd
Sweet corn Yellow Sweet
2017 Year in Review -- 13
Why smallholder farmers? less than 2 hectares, are responsible for 85% of the world’s food production.
Smallholder farmers, who grow food on
88% of the world’s smallholder farmers are located in tropical areas.
Why vegetables? Nutrition. Rich source of micronutrients. More for less. Farmers can produce vegetables year-round. They require less water than most field crops and can be harvested within a shorter time.
Cash crops. Farmers can diversify their income and earn significantly more. For example: 1,000 sq.m planted to bitter gourd will give a farmer roughly the same income as 1 hectare planted to rice.
By 2050 the world will need an additional
730 million tons of fruits and vegetables.
East-West Seed in 2017 35 years of experience in developing high-quality seeds to help smallholder farmers in tropical areas increase their production and incomes
18 million smallholder farmers served in the tropics with Better Seeds for Better Yield
14 R&D stations
67,962
In 6 countries
smallholder farmers trained on vegetable farming through Knowledge Transfer activities
10 seed processing facilities in 7 countries
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9 main markets East-West Seed has direct presence in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Guatemala, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Tanzania, Vietnam
60+ export markets Our brand is well-known by vegetable farmers in the tropics
11% company turnover invested into research and development in 2017
Over $11 million yearly spending in investment on infrastructure development
19 public-private R&D projects In 2017, we invested around USD 1 million on research collaboration with public sector partners and like-minded seed companies.
8,924 contract growers We partner with local smallholder farmers to produce our seeds for our global market, ensuring the supply of quality seeds and advancing the local seed sector.
24 million Value Packs and Go Grow sold Value Packs are small seed pouches containing high quality seeds, sold at around US $1 per pouch. Go Grow are small seed packets that come with essential planting information for first-time growers.
2017 Year in Review -- 15
Employees by job function Knowledge transfer 2.8% Business partner function
Seed supply
22.2%
37.0%
Sales, marketing and promotion 22.2%
R&D 26.0%
We are 4,774 strong Total headcount in 2017, with a 40%+ increase in permanent employees compared with last year
Gender mix 1 in 3 EWS employees is a woman
Generation mix The average age of employees is 35 years old. 34% of our employees are millennials.
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2017 Year in Review -- 17
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MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERVISORY BOARD 2017 marked a significant year for East-West Seed as we celebrated our 35th anniversary, and at the same time, launched an exciting and ambitious 5-year strategy. Thirty five years is still young by the standards of the seed industry, the history of which goes as far back as the 1800s. Now, more than two centuries later, our industry finds itself in a vastly different world where food security and protecting the land are some of the biggest modern-day challenges we face. While it is true that modern agriculture has achieved so much over the past century, its work is never done. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize this, making a 15-year agenda and universal call to action to improve life and provide a better planet for all. Ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition is the focus of SDG #2, which acknowledges the vital role of small-scale farmers in ensuring sustainable food production systems. We at East-West Seed count ourselves among the many actors working together to increase farmers’ capacity for agricultural productivity, reducing hunger and poverty, and improving human nutrition in the tropics. We believe in a sustainable food future with smallholder farmers at the center. Our work over the last 35 years has been focused on developing improved vegetable varieties that lead to higher income for farmers and nutritious food for local markets, and facilitating access to farming knowledge that will enable farmers to become more productive and successful.
2017 Year in Review -- 19
Our mission has not changed in the past 35 years and we plan to stay true to it as our aspirations grow. We will further expand and intensify our market networks, and significantly increase our investments in R&D so that we are able to continue offering innovation to our customers. We will also keep focusing on attracting and developing talented young people to help us drive our business. We plan to further cement our market leadership position in our home markets, and gradually expand into new tropical markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The infatuation with speed is a characteristic of our times but we believe that in the seed business, meaningful changes do not happen overnight. Thankfully we have the luxury of patient shareholders who understand this. We are lucky to remain an independent, privately held company whose structure and active involvement of the family in our business allows us to be agile and flexible in responding to changing market needs and circumstances. Best of all: we are not tormented by the demands of the stock market, driven by quarterly results and quick wins. We watch as big multinationals merge and acquire each other and report to their investors, while we go about doing what we believe we are good at: bringing better seeds to smallholder farmers and helping them to get a better income from it. As a family business we are steady and take a long-term view, promoting stability and steady organic growth of the business, never forgetting that we exist for the farmers. Bangkok, March 2018
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Ard Groot
Douwe Zijp
Simon Groot
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Honorary Chairman & Founder
Rutger Groot
Ivan Chung
Juan Santos
Member
Member
Member
Joost Pekelharing
James Amatavivadhana
Dietrich Schmidt
Member
Member
Member
2017 Year in Review -- 21
MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT 60 years ago, business thought leader Peter Drucker made what was then a groundbreaking statement: the purpose of business is not to make a profit. According to him, the purpose of business is to create a customer - that is, to supply the wants and needs of a well defined group of customers. This was published this way back in the 1950s, but I doubt the wisdom has stuck. Today many companies make the mistake that the purpose, maybe the absolute purpose, of a business is to make profit. In the seed industry this seems to be the case, as we recently witnessed the completion of gigantic mergers and acquisitions - among them Bayer-Monsanto, Dow & DuPont, and Syngenta-ChemChina. Where does all this leave the farmer? Our company was established in 1982 with an entrepreneurial vision to help farmers out of poverty. It brought people together from East and West on a mission to bring innovations that will help farmers earn more money using better seeds. We continue to focus on the customer-farmer, knowing that if we indeed satisfy their needs, we will make the profit we need to continue our business. Today East-West Seed is a strong and healthy company, innovative and quality driven, and growing fast in terms of value and in terms of people. In 2017, we invested 11% of our turnover into R&D and spent over USD 11 million in infrastructure development, putting our money on long-term growth. We trained about 70,000 smallholders through our steadily expanding Knowledge Transfer activities. We invested over USD 1 million on research collaborations with the public sector and like-minded seed companies, to reap the benefits of crosspollination in talent and knowledge.
22 -- 2017 Year in Review
Last year we launched GROW, an ambitious 5-year strategy that will bring East-West Seed to a greater level of granularity in our relationship with farmers. We will develop further as a robust organization of talented seed professionals working as one team. We will remain focused in winning over tropical vegetable markets in Asia, Africa and tropical Americas. Our purpose hasn’t changed; we’ve only grown our aspirations and found novel ways to achieve our mission. That’s another thing about purpose: it mobilizes people in a way that pursuing profits alone can not. We look forward to working with the Supervisory Board, alongside our executive leadership team we call the Trailblazers and our entire staff across multiple countries in moving closer to these shared goals. We have great optimism for the future of East-West Seed, and I invite all of you to take part in it. Bangkok, March 2018
Bert van der Feltz
Simon Jan de Hoop
Michel Devarrewaere
President & CEO
Vice President
Vice President
2017 Year in Review -- 23
SERVING FARMERS THE GREAT EWS JOURNEY As part of our 35th Anniversary celebration, we embarked on East-West Seed’s very own road trip: The Great Journey. About 300 employees from the Philippines, Thailand, and India participated in the program, where about 40 trips were made and close to 1,000 farmers were visited.
What We Learned About Farmers’ Key Concerns:
The “listening tour” created an opportunity for our volunteer staff to interact directly with our customers. We wanted to set up an open forum for them to share
•
their problems, needs, and aspirations with us. The
influence crop selection
Great Journey has helped us uncover real concerns
•
Lack of technical knowledge and trusted
affecting farmers.
resources for plant diseases
(many don’t have internet or smartphones, etc.)
•
Persistent high use of pesticides
without protective gear
•
Unstable prices of fresh produce in the market
•
High cost of inputs
•
Shortage of water and lack of irrigation
systems in the dry season
•
High disease pressure
•
Lack of information on sources of capital
like loans or subsidies
SC THIS AN PAGE EAST-WEST SEED
24 -- 2017 Year in Review
Labor shortage and costs which
EWS KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER MAKES IT EASIER FOR FARMERS TO ACCESS INFORMATION Farmers now have access to hundreds of quality
These systems have the potential to significantly
guides on good farming practices through East-
benefit farmers through increased productivity and
West Seed Knowledge Transfer’s (EWS-KT) most
income, while also improving quality and consistency
comprehensive and wide-ranging collection of
of safer-to-eat vegetables for communities. Partners
resources to date.
can co-brand these materials with us for their own purposes. To request a partnership, please send an email to sylvie.desilles@eastwestseed.com.
This project is just one aspect of how EWS-KT is helping reach smallholder farmers with knowledge on sustainable and profitable production systems.
What are crop guides? Educational farming materials that are accurate, easy to understand and tailored for local conditions • Seedling Produc tion Substrate preparati on : heat for 10 minutes
• Fertilizer Applica tion
or place in full sun for half day; fill tray
5g
1 to 2 parts soil
1 part well-decompo 3sed manure
2
1
Wear protective gear
1 part sand or burnt rice husk
Good weather
Active Ingredient Fipronil Lambda-cyhalothrin Dinotefuran Thiamethoxam Imidacloprid Spinosad Abamectin Thiocyclam oxalate Chlorantraniliprole Flubendiamide
2 Aphid
MoA
Target
2B
SC
3 Caterpillar
4 Fruitfly
1/2
3
4
4A
S
6
SC (Slight S)
14
SC
28
S
28
S
10 g
10 g
5g
5g
Harvest fruits in the morning, every 2-3 days.
deep.
up to 17th node.
Strong use of
Preventive Preventive Preventive + Curative Preventive + Curative Curative Preventive + Curative
Target
Broad spectrum Broad spectrum Powdery mildew Cercospora leaf spot Downy mildew Downy mildew Downy mildew
Remark
Kinds of Diseases Downy mildew http://www.eastwestseed-kt.com/
Every 2 m, incorporate into soil 40 g 15:15:15 + 3 kg manure before transplanting
98 DAT
112 DAT
technical aspects
ation of 8,800 per hectare.
and reduce reliance on text. 50 cm
in the afternoon
cm Crop50 rotati on prevents build up of insect pests and diseases and restores soil fertili ty.
Maximum 4 times per crop cycle Tank mixed with preventive (Chlorothalonil or Mancozeb) High risk of resistance (only use 2 times per season)
understanding of
28
• How to assure high yield
» Alternate mode of action (MoA) groups to prevent resistance » Control sucking insects to prevent virus Morn ing Evening » Remove infected plants and fruits » Reduce DAT if healthy 8 - 10 days Reduce spraying water and40 expose to more sun 2-3 days befo re transplanting late MoA
visuals to enhance
To prevent infec tion from spreading, sick plants, old crops and weeds must be remo ved.
D
applicable).
FRENCH AFRICA
root tips 2.5 cm
14
S 4Atain Main constant S moisture 5
UR
languages (where
Propamocarb Cymoxanil Metalaxyl
15 g
• Land Preparation
GO
available in 14
Chlorothalonil Mancozeb Azoxystrobin
15 g
5g
42 DAT 56 » Narrow paths help with irrigation and drainage DAT 70 DAT DAT 84 DAT DAT » Install trellis before transplanting The recommend ed fertilizer amou nt is based on plant » 8,800 plants/ha popul
R
technical guides
Active Ingredient
10 g
good ventilation
TE
guides and nine
Prune side shoots
Crop Guide
SC 3A Sowi ng depth = Ssize 4A of 2 seeds
MoA (Mode of Action); SC (Stomach + Contact); S (Systemic)
including 23 crop
10 g
5g
Apply fertilizer near
Wash after spraying
BIT
a total of 316 guides
Good nozzle
5g
BITTER GOURD 1 Whitefly
We have developed
4
Sow seeds and protect seedlings
Kinds of Insects
Valid 2017-2018
• Safe and effective use of pesticides
1 m wide, 30 cm high (20 cm dry season)
2m Powdery mildew
Cercospora leaf spot
Virus
This crop guide is part of a series produced by EWSF. @2017 Copyright of East-West Seed Foundation. All Rights Reserved Agrochemical recommendations have been developed in cooperation with Wageningen University & Research
All technical recommendations are verified by Wageningen University & Research as well as our teams out in the field to combine global expertise with a local understanding of conditions and needs. These guides are a result of a cross-functional collaboration among EWS R&D, Sales and Marketing, Product Development Support, the EWS Academy, and Wageningen University & Research.
How to access the crop guides Visit kt.eastwestseed.com. The crop guides come in relatively small file sizes to reduce data usage and loading times for farmers accessing the guides online. Guides can also be saved for offline use so they can be read later while in the field.
2017 Year in Review -- 25
RECORD-BREAKING FIELD DAY IN THAILAND A record high of 13,000 customers and partners visited the company’s international headquarters in Bang Bua Thong, Nonthaburi, Thailand to attend a grand field day from November 17-19 to celebrate the company’s 35th anniversary. Over 150 vegetable varieties on four different plots of land were on display to farmers, dealers and curious members of the community. The field featured demonstration areas showing the latest seed technologies and vegetable growing techniques, exciting new commercial varieties, as well as indigenous vegetable varieties in home gardening landscapes. The tour included the renovated Seed Processing Plant and QA lab.
SC THIS AN PAG
E
EAST-WEST SEED
26 -- 2017 Year in Review
The field was also the site of the post-congress tour of the Asian Seed Congress which took place that same week, welcoming delegates and friends from the entire Asia Pacific seed industry.
“THE CHALLENGE THAT OTHERS RUN AWAY FROM IS THE ONE WORTH PURSUING”
“As long as there are people to consume vegetables, we will have customers,” says Ghanaian farmer Omere Marion.
When a catering company asked Omere Marion to add
Omere now supplies the catering company with EWS varieties
vegetables to the crops he supplied to them, he was initially
including Kibibi F1 (African eggplant), Maha F1 (okra), Efia
hesitant. He had tried to produce vegetables in the past,
(hot pepper), and Sweet Sangria (watermelon). From being
but was never satisfied with the yields.
initially skeptical, he now intends to specialize in the production of these crops while adding other vegetable varieties with high
Omere farms in Abekroase, a mining community in the
resistance to wilt and fungal disease.
Western Region of Ghana, and one of his clients is the largest catering company which serves this community. Although
“The training offered me the opportunity of realizing the
he already provided plantain and pineapple to them, they
challenge that others run away from is the one worthy of
requested he add vegetables to his supply and suggested
pursuing,” Omere says.
he speak to East-West Seed and Tikola Ghana Ltd. With his profits, he has bought a motorbike and had rented After meeting EWS’ sales representative for the region,
a land closer to a river to ease his farming activities. Omere
Jonathan Nduakoh, Omere was quickly convinced that it
has also become somewhat of a hero among his fellow
was not only possible, but profitable to produce vegetables
farmers. “Now others look up to me to advise them on their
in the area. Soon after, he even hosted a model farm project
cropping concerns. As long as there are people to consume
as the lead farmer, an initiative sponsored by GhanaVeg.
vegetables, we will have customers,” he says.
GhanaVeg is an initiative of The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in line with efforts towards prioritizing commercial agriculture in Ghana.
2017 Year in Review -- 27
LEARNING & INNOVATION COOL IDEAS EMERGE AT THE FIRST EWS INNOVATION OLYMPICS Dubbed as an “agri hackathon”, EWS Innovation Olympics challenged students to compete in developing technologies to raise farmers’ productivity. The top three innovative ideas emerged as the big winners: •
An e-commerce app that hopes to transform smallholder farmers to agri-preneurs by connecting them to input suppliers and buyers of fresh produce.
•
A solar powered multi-crop dryer for food processing, expected to boost market value of crops, increase farmers’ revenues and cut post-harvest loss.
•
A prototype smart sensor for monitoring soil humidity and automating irrigation that allows farmers to read data and send commands by SMS or text messaging.
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SIMON GROOT AGRICULTURE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED TO CHILDREN OF FARMERS SC THIS AN PAGE EAST-WEST SEED
East-West Seed’s 35th anniversary theme “Growing Opportunities” is about creating growth within the agriculture sector. One of the highlights of the year is the awarding of the Simon Groot scholarship to children of farmers who aspire to pursue agriculture degrees and build a future in farming.
“Agricultural education is one of the most powerful investments we can make for the future,” says Simon Groot, founder of East-West Seed. “We must encourage farmers’ children to carry on the their parents’ legacy by equipping them with scientific and practical knowledge to turn farming into a thriving business and a sustainable source of livelihood for their communities.”
2017 Year in Review -- 29
EAST-WEST SEED PARTNERS WITH FARMERS GROUPS, UNIVERSITIES FOR MEKONG DELTA RURAL ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT The Mekong Delta has been struggling through severe
private sector are collaborators in this project: the Vietnam
drought episodes and salinity intrusion for several
Farmers’ Union; Nong Lam University; Land, Water & Food
years, which escalated recently due to the 2016 El Niño
Consult, East-West Seed and Wageningen University.
phenomenon, the second most severe since 1965. The Vietnamese government has recognized this as a serious
The project aims to find ways to respond to salinity and
concern and set a call to address and take action on these
drought to the Mekong River delta by collecting information
climate challenges. Approximately 60 per cent of the
on crops with a focus on salt and drought tolerance and
Mekong River Basin’s population rely on agriculture for
identifying field level technologies and strategies to deal
food security and livelihood.
with salinity and drought. It will include practical applications
East-West Seed has taken part in a project to enable farmers
and will seek to find out what
to respond to drought and salinity in the Mekong River delta.
works through on and off farm
The project was presented to Vietnamese Prime Minister
experiments and crop testing.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his state visit to the Netherlands
Successful response strategies
from July 8-11 at the invitation of his Dutch counterpart,
will be scaled up via farmer and
Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Farmers, research, and the
private sector networks.
30 -- 2017 Year in Review
EAST-WEST SEED
CROP WIKI In 2017, we launched the new and improved
Available in different languages
CropWiki, our online product catalog. New features include offline capabilities and the ability to upload photos and make notes.
Variety information at your fingertips
Add notes, upload photos, mark your favorites
Social sharing
DOWNLOAD NOW!
Offline capability
2017 Year in Review -- 31
PASSIONATE TEAMS
LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION AT EAST-WEST SEED Founder Simon N. Groot handed over the chairmanship of the company to the next generation in a symbolic event held at the birthplace of East-West Seed. Ard Groot, 7th generation seedsman and newly appointed chairman of East-West Seed said, “We should never forget that we are here to serve our customers, the farmers of Asia, Africa and Latin America, with better seeds and know-how. We can only be successful if our customers succeed in improving their income because we have done a good job for them.”
32 -- 2017 Year in Review
Founder Simon Groot emphasized the company’s long-term vision to serve smallholder farmers in the tropics. “It gives me a sense of pride to pass on the leadership of the Board into the new generation, ensuring that East-West Seed remains an independent, privately owned and most importantly, farmer-centric company. I am convinced that this is the best way to sustain our long-term vision. Serving farmers has always been, and will always be the
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driver of East-West Seed.”
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EAST-WEST SEED
The event was opened by CEO Bert van der Feltz, with special participation of Netherlands Ambassador Marion Derckx, Marco Wopereis of the World Vegetable Center, Ahmad Yuniarto of the EWINDO Board of Commissioners, Jacqueline van Zwol of the Groot Family STAK, Supervisory Board, Board of Management, and the leadership team and employees of East-West Seed.
2017 Year in Review -- 33
MARIGOLDS FOR HIS MAJESTY To honor the memory of His Majesty, King Rama IX of Thailand, East-West Seed partnered with government to inspire the people of Bangkok to decorate the city with marigold flowers. The flowers, whose color represents the late King’s birthday, have been planted in advance to bloom in time for the royal cremation ceremony in October. East-West Seed shared in the sorrow and solidarity of the Thai people in remembering the beloved King.
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The company donated 99,999 marigold seed packets to every district in the city through the Bangkok metropolitan governor’s office. The marigolds were grown in public areas and major parks. Sharing knowledge was also part of the mission. East-West Seed created a series of how-to videos on YouTube called “Marigolds for Dad to teach people how to grow marigold and share simple tips.
34 -- 2017 Year in Review
TAKING ROOT IN CAMBODIA In the last 35 years, we have seen how our company has
of Agriculture in Siem Riep, aimed at training farmers on
played a key role in increasing farmer productivity by
improved farming practices that result to higher productivity.
investing in technology to develop better seeds, promoting
This was followed by several other partnerships with GIZ,
knowledge through agriculture extension, and contributing
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Cambodia Agricultural
to the development of the value chain. We are committed
Value Chain Program (CAVAC), Netherlands Development
to do that in Cambodia. We believe that public-private
Association (SNV) and World Vision in other parts of the
cooperation is essential in order for the country’s agriculture
country.
sector to realize its potential,� said Michel Devarrewaere, Vice President of the East-West Seed Group.
In 2016, East-West Seed established a fully owned subsidiary in Cambodia. Presently, it is the only multinational
East-West Seed began operating in Cambodia in 2005
seed company with full operations in the country, supported
through a local distributor. In 2009, it expanded to
by a local team and a network of distributors to serve
knowledge transfer activities in cooperation with the German
Cambodian farmers.
development agency GIZ and the Provincial Department
L-R: East-West Seed Vice President Michel Devarrewaere, His Excellency Ty Sokhun (Secretary of State of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia), and Ms Marieke van Schie (Team Leader-CHAIN, SNV Cambodia)
2017 Year in Review -- 35
NEW LEADERSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES AND MYANMAR In 2017, East-West Seed welcomed Henk Hermans and Chengrui Kang as general managers for the Philippines and Myanmar respectively.
Henk brings over 20 years of project and general management expertise as well as marketing and sales experience gained in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. “As a ‘new-to-seed’ man my views on business and operations will differ at times. But different viewpoints create opportunities for us to think “outside the box” leading to a more creative and sustainable team. I believe we can increase our market share with a focus on responsive service and our myriad product range. On the long term we will work on increasing the
Henk Hermans
East-West Seed Philippines general manager
growth and popularity of the vegetable and fruit market in the Philippines, which would lead to a healthier population.”
Kang started his career in EastWest Seed in 2010 as Product Development Support where he became immersed in the technical side of the business. In 2013, he became Market Development Manager for China, and then later Chief Representative for China to look after their R&D and commercial teams before moving to Myanmar. “I’m looking forward to enhancing East-West Seed’s market leader role in Myanmar. I hope that my product management knowledge can be useful. Sales has been growing well in recent years, and I believe the team can make a good product pipeline for the future.”
Chengrui Kang
East-West Seed Myanmar general manager
36 -- 2017 Year in Review
East-West Seed International Limited No. 50/1 Moo 2, Sainoi-Bang Bua Thong Rd., Amphur Sainoi, Nonthaburi 11150 Thailand Tel : +66 (02) 020 6000 Fax : +66 (02) 020 6099 E-mail : media@eastwestseed.com www.eastwestseed.com