2020 Our Year in Review by East-West Seed

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW “WE STRIVE THROUGH TOGETHER”

Copyright © 2021 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: Pajaree Na Songkhla, Group Communications Manager Design and layout: Piyathida Pornpitchyapong, Graphic Designer, EWS Studio

EAST-WEST SEED

OUR MISSION 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 Our vision is to be the best tropical vegetable seed company in the world.

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

OUR CORE VALUES Serving Farmers 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.

Learning and Innovation 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.

Passionate Teams 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.

EAST-WEST SEED

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCING OUR MANAGING BOARD

EAST-WEST SEED AROUND THE WORLD

OUR COMPANY THROUGH THE YEARS

EAST-WEST SEED AT A GLANCE

OUR PEOPLE

OUR PRODUCTS

WE STRIVED THROUGH COVID-19: TOGETHERNESS, RESILIENCE, PERSISTENCE

• Knowledge Transfer

• Protecting the food chain and serving our farmers in times of need

• Staying connected to employees, farmers, customers and partners

2020 EWS KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• East-West Seed in top 30 of FORTUNE’s list

• Our Research & Development in 2020

• Planting the seeds of Digital Agriculture

• Active external engagements

EAST-WEST SEED

MESSAGE FROM MANAGEMENT 2020 was a difficult year for many people around the world.

We also experienced important internal changes in 2020

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to health, finan-

and early 2021. In December 2020, Douwe Zijp was

cial and economic crises in nearly every region. The arrival

announced as the new CEO, replacing Bert van der Feltz. In

of successful vaccines in 2021 means that we should ex-

February 2021, to strengthen the organization for the next

pect to turn a corner and enter a “new normal”, still healing

growth phase, we established the Managing Board, a new

from the Covid crisis but optimistic and ready to rebuild a

senior leadership team.

better and more inclusive future. 2021 will be another challenging year as COVID-19 will still The past year was challenging for East-West Seed as it was

be with us for some time. But with strong teams made up of

for every company. Yet, we remained resilient and not only

capable members and determined leadership, we will excel.

survived the pandemic but grew stronger. We focused on

We will continue to serve farmers and put them at the heart

maintaining a steady supply of seeds to farmers to ensure

of everything we do.

the food chain was protected in case of logistic challenges caused by lockdowns and other restrictions. Despite the crisis, we were able to continue delivering quality seeds to farmers across the world, while reaching our budget targets and achieving a 17% sales increase. Staying

“Douwe Zijp is the CEO of East-West Seed Group as of

connected with business partners and farmers was of the

December 14, 2020, after serving four years as Vice Chairman

utmost importance. We sped up plans to increase our digital

of the Supervisory Board. He brings a wealth of experience

outreach to farmers, including online initiatives such as

in the seed industry. Initially trained in business economics,

webinars, social media content and live sessions.

he executed different management positions at the Dutch Natural Gas Corporation and at AgrEvo Benelux in Germany.

We ensured that our employees were protected and healthy

He joined Nunhems Group (later Bayer Crop Science Vegetable

by staying closely connected to them and providing a safe

Seeds) as Chief Financial Officer in 1998 and served 10

work environment with strict measures in place. We also gave

years as Chief Executive Officer until 2013. After that,

them added support by enacting a flexible work arrangement

he became Chief Executive Officer at Incotec Group, the

and offering special COVID insurance.

seed enhancement company. Douwe has held a number of non-executive board positions in different seed and agro

Our operations, logistics and outreach programs became

companies. He also served on the board of seed associations

complex due to travel restrictions and lockdowns. However,

such as Plantum and the International Seed Federation. He

it was during this crucial time that our customers needed us

provides advice to Temasek on agri-related activities.

the most. With great teamwork from our dedicated workers around the world, we found ways to overcome the challenges

Half his life has been spent traveling, visiting vegetable

in order to keep in touch with our farmers and continue

fields and growers all over the world. He has a passion for

supporting them as best we could.

seeds, for strategic planning and people development, and he strongly believes in East-West Seed’s mission to improve

COVID-19 has revealed again the importance of fresh vegetables

smallholder farmers’ income. Douwe is married to Wia and

as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. For urban growers,

has three grown-up children living with their partners in the

online purchases of smaller seed packs became a necessity

Netherlands. He recently welcomed a beautiful granddaughter.”

due to travel restrictions and quarantines. We ramped up operations at our e-commerce stores, empowering urban growers to increase their access to nutritious food.

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

EAST-WEST SEED

NEW LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE AT EAST-WEST SEED to STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATION for next growth phase: 10 billion people will need to be fed by 2050. This can only happen when farmers grow more, and more nutritious, food. We have taken decisive actions towards strengthening our organization in order for us to be ready for the next growth phase.

the Managing Board (MB) reporting to the CEO, Douwe Zijp. With a strengthened leadership team, EWS is ready to deliver even more improved service quality and products to our customers and business partners as we continue to reach out to more farmers who will feed the world.

Effective from February 11, 2021, East-West Seed will be managed by a senior leadership team called

INTRODUCING OUR MANAGING BOARD: Douwe Zijp CEO Michel Devarrewaere Vice President Production / Projects Paul Chaytor Chief Supply Chain Officer Joost van Elzakker Chief Commercial Officer Dilip Rajan Chief Strategy Officer Cathlea Barote Chief People Officer Marc-Philippe Garnaud Chief Finance Officer Simon Jan de Hoop Chief R&D Officer See their profiles

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

#farmersfirst #leadership #innovation #food

EAST-WEST SEED

AROUND THE WORLD Holding Location Head Office Knowledge Transfer active countries

- Subsidiary Companies East West Seed International Ltd.

Thailand

Hortigen Properties Corp.

Philippines

East West Seed Company Ltd.

Thailand

Farm Ready GG Seedling Corporation

Philippines

Thailand

East West Seeds India Pvt. Ltd.

India

Thailand

East West Seed Bangladesh Private Ltd.

Bangladesh

Hortigenetics Research (S.E. Asia) Ltd.

East West Seedling Co.,Ltd. East-West Seed (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.

Cambodia

NaMa Genetics Trading Ltd.

China

East-West Seed (Myanmar) Co., Ltd.

Myanmar

EWSY, Inc

USA

East West Seed (Malaysia) SDN. BHD.

Malaysia

East-West Seed (Tanzania) Ltd.

Tanzania

East-West Seed (Guatemala) Ltd.

Guatemala

East-West Seed (Hai Mui Ten Do) Company Ltd. Vietnam East-West Seed Company Inc.

Philippines

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

Subsidiary Companies

- Holding Location East-West International B.V.

Area of Distribution

Joint Ventures

The Netherlands

- Knowledge Transfer active countries Bangladesh Cambodia

- Joint Ventures PT East West Seed Indonesia

Philippines Indonesia

Myanmar India Indonesia

- Associated Companies

Tanzania

Genetwister Technologies B.V.

The Netherlands

Uganda

PT Kentang Hollando Sejahtera

Indonesia

Nigeria

EAST-WEST SEED

OUR COMPANY

THROUGH THE YEARS

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

EAST-WEST SEED

AT A GLANCE

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

EAST-WEST SEED

OUR PEOPLE As a long-term people strategy, we aim to increase our efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion starting with strong emphasis in improving the number of women in leadership positions. We also put our effort in making sure that different voices are heard and valued.

2020 OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

PEOPLE PROGRAMS LAUNCHED IN 2020

1 1

Employee Opinion Survey (EOS)

Launched in September 2020, EOS is an employee survey that provides an opportunity for employees to share their feedback and opinions about their work and the company overall.

LinkedIn Learning

East-West Seed is only as strong as its people. We launched Learning@EWS, our digital learning platform and in August 2020, partnered with LinkedIn Learning for accelerating skills acquisition of our employees.

East-West Seed is a growth-oriented company. We value the inputs of our people and engage them to help drive continuous improvement in the organization.

ACHIEVEMENT EWS wins LinkedIn Award: Best Learning Company 2020 (Thailand) In support of our increased focus on strengthening talent and capability development, we partnered with LinkedIn Learning to augment the available learning and development resources to employees in 2020.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

1 1

Flexible work arrangement

We adopted flexible work arrangement across the Group as our way of responding to the extraordinary year that we saw in 2020.

Investment in Agile Talent Program

Even at the height of the Covid, talent management plans did not get cancelled. We found ways to make it happen.

EAST-WEST SEED

OUR PRODUCTS

COVID-19 SPECIAL CONTENT

We strived through COVID-19: TOGETHERNESS, RESILIENCE, PERSISTENCE

OUR PRODUCTS

2020 will be remembered for generations as the year a global pandemic disrupted virtually every facet of life around the world. Numerous individuals and companies were suddenly and dramatically forced to accept the so-called “new normal” ways of working, along with all of the difficulties that this entailed. These challenges were jarring, and numerous companies and industries were forced to adapt quickly. At East-West Seed, we have been able to not only survive but thrive during the COVID-19 crisis through a three-pronged approach encompassing the themes of Togetherness, Resilience and Persistence.

WE STRIVED THROUGH

COVID-19

ERNESS TOGETHERNESS As one team, we put forth our maximum effort into supporting smallholder farmers and vegetable growers around the world, despite the difficult circumstances.

WE STRIVED THROUGH

COVID-19

R E S I L I EENCE NCE We adjusted our ways of working to ensure quality seeds reached our farmers in times of need.

WE STRIVED THROUGH

COVID-19

PERSISTENCE TENCE We went the extra mile and never stopped as we helped our farmers in securing the agricultural products needed by the world population.

EAST-WEST SEED

1. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER Over the last 5 years, Knowledge Transfer has trained over 300,000 smallholder farmers, putting them on a positive path of change. In 2020, we continued to put our maximum efforts into training smallholder farmers despite the COVID-19 crisis. In the coming years, we will increase the number of farmers we train through intensive field-based training. We will also deepen the impact of our work through the use of data, robust systems, digital presence and stronger market connectivity.

Read Knowledge Transfer Annual Reports :

Having more women and youth actively engaged in Knowledge Transfer projects is a must for East-West Seed. This is expected to have a profound effect on the uptake of improved practices and be a significant driver of growth for seed and input markets. To encourage their participation in training events, we will emphasize our efforts and work towards a target where at least 60% of key farmers are youth and women.

COVID-19 SPECIAL CONTENT

From right to left: Daw Mi Cho TunTun Win, her neighbor and apprentice Ko Eng Sai, EWS-KT technical field officer

Big Boss : The story of a female farmer in Myanmar At roughly 5 feet tall, Daw Mi Cho’s nickname certainly doesn’t come from her physical stature. She manages and works on her own vegetable farm in Myanmar’s Kayin State which borders north-western Thailand. “It’s difficult to find male labor for the farm sometimes,” says Daw Mi Cho, nicknamed Big Boss, referring to the regular migration of people from her state into Thailand looking for work. On her first demonstration farm, she did all the manual labor herself, with the exception of some land preparation tasks. Things were quite different before she became the boss. Challenging traditional techniques Big Boss has always been a farmer. But just three years ago, the profits from her corn and kangkong plots were roughly USD 200 per harvest over 3 acres. When considering her time, this was just about helping her and her family to stay afloat. She was not the only one. Many vegetable growers in Kayin were using traditional farming techniques that could only deliver low yields and poor quality produce. But this was about to change. Six to one Her most recent harvest was highly profitable. She has been able to reinvest in a tiller for future land preparation after she earned a net profit of about USD 2100 (compared to profits of less than USD 200 before).

trellising and mulching that she used on her demonstration farm. A demonstration farm is used as a way to show a community that these technologies truly work and are both practical and manageable for smallholder farmers. It is just one of the approaches used by EWS-KT to share tried-and-tested knowledge, empowering farmers to achieve higher yields. This leads to higher incomes that can help stimulate local economies. In this case, it has also resulted in Daw Mi Cho’s nickname as she has become a pioneer in her community. “When they [other farmers] come to me for advice, I encourage them to take notes. Sometimes they don’t bring notebooks so I give some to them,” says Big Boss. The ripple effect She now has 30 farmers following her advice, both women and men, an indirect outreach or ‘ripple effect’ of the activities implemented by EWS-KT. Some farmers can be protective of knowledge they have acquired - thinking they need the competitive edge in the market and may be reluctant to share it with their neighbors. “No,” says Big Boss when asked if she feels that way, “I want to see the other families live in a nice environment and have good relationships.”

Big Boss’ latest Return on Investment was 6:1 on roughly a quarter of an acre, a fraction of the land space she used previously.

Across the road from her farm, her neighbor Tun Tun Win has followed the techniques she has taught him - just as precisely as she has done herself.

This is because she has implemented several technologies she has learned from the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) team, in partnership with MEDA in Kayin. The technologies she has learned include bed preparation, net

She inspects his field, before giving him a nod of approval. He smiles, knowing he has passed Big Boss’ strict quality control.

EAST-WEST SEED

2. PROTECTING THE FOOD CHAIN AND SERVING OUR FARMERS IN TIMES OF NEED COVID-19 caused our many teams around the world to enact operational initiatives to ensure that the needs of farmers could be met and our businesses could continue running smoothly. We entered partnerships with public and private entities to devise special programs that helped smallholder farmers during this challenging time. Our efforts at the start of the pandemic in working closely with governments, seed associations and other partners also helped us to secure the designation of being considered essential infrastructure in the countries in which we operate.

EWPH (East-West Seed Philippines)

EWTH (East-West Seed Thailand)

During the lockdown, our team in the Philippines remained closely connected with government agencies, dealers, and seed production cooperatives to ensure steady supply of vegetable seeds in the country. Together with the Department of Agriculture (DA), we supported 50 rice farmers in the province of Nueva Ecija by training them on vegetable production and linking them to institutional buyer, Dizon Farms, to help secure their income amid the pandemic.

At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, our team in Thailand initiated the “Fighting COVID with Home Grown Veggie” public-private partnership campaign with the Thai government’s Community Development Department (CDD). The intention was to provide food security to households by way of a steady supply of fresh vegetables. In collaboration with CDD, we were able to both support the country’s food chain and explore new business opportunities with several government authorities that were aligned with the goal of increasing food security. EWTH offered the first batch of 100,000 seed pouches to kick off the program. These seed packs were distributed through CDD channels to farmers and growers in rural communities. Simultaneously our staff on the ground worked with the CDD to conduct training sessions that educated growers about crop care advisory. The program was endorsed by the government so we were able to effectively collaborate with its local offices to organize more activities in provinces around the country. Giving back in this difficult time was an effective way to raise brand awareness and generate community engagement, helping to make real connections with our customers.

We partnered with DA in establishing vegetable gardens in seven communities in the province of Batangas. The gardens also provided additional income to community members. We also encouraged more urban residents to grow their own food by establishing a model community vegetable garden in Manila in partnership with the Philippine Seed Industry Association. Providing the communities access to safe and nutritious food, we donated 225,000 vegetable seeds, seedlings, and fruiting plants to farmer groups, local government units and NGOs.

COVID-19 SPECIAL CONTENT

EWINDO (East-West Seed Indonesia)

EWMM (East-West Seed Myanmar)

When COVID-19 first emerged in Indonesia, we quickly formed a task force and made sure every line of the business applied the COVID-19 prevention protocols. Transportation between regions became difficult due to government restrictions. We coordinated with government ministries to obtain letters of assignment, thus ensuring our employees could continue to work. We also produced and distributed 250,000 masks for farmers by putting the masks inside the seed boxes, and provided handwashing facilities at agriculture shops. We never forgot that supporting the communities in which we work is our most important obligation, so we embarked on a program to distribute staple foods to surrounding communities who were affected by the COVID as well as personal protective equipment to related institutions and hospitals.

During the COVID period in Myanmar, various transportation restrictions came into force throughout the country. As a result, the teams at EWMM came up with creative solutions to ensure that we stayed in touch with farmers and that seeds continued to reach them in time.

Thankfully, the COVID-19 crisis did not limit our effort to serve farmers and secure the food chain. We are steadfast in our commitment to provide a steady supply of vegetable seeds to local farmers and help maintain food security for the people of Indonesia.

We also supported our employees by launching programmes to donate food staples to them and their families during the lockdown.

When the restrictions were put in place, we applied a skeleton workforce within our logistics networks and facilities, and enacted safety protocols for our employees. As the outbreak worsened, the government swiftly ordered all factories, plants and offices throughout the country to shut down. We were able to obtain an operation permit quickly by putting in place safety measures in our plants and offices. This also included incorporating online platforms such as Google, WhatsApp and Viber for team activities and communication.

EWIN & EWBD (East-West Seed India and East-West Seed Bangladesh) EWHMTD (Hai Mui Ten Do) In February 2020, the EWHMTD team already predicted that the COVID-19 situation would be complicated. Recognizing the potential logistical challenges, the Seed Operations Management department stepped up its effort to import products from sister companies for goods that were critical in the short term to prevent a blockade from other countries. The Plant team then worked diligently to pack a higher volume of goods than normal to meet farmer’s demands of more than a month’s supply. The team also coordinated with the customer service and the sales teams to deliver more goods to dealers so that the channel could keep at least two weeks of farmers’ demand. As a result of these coordinated efforts, EWHMTD was able to achieve 92% on the “On Time In Full (OTIF)” rating and fulfilled 100% of the order requirements from packaging to delivery within four days in 2020.

AFRICA When COVID set in, transportation to Africa virtually came to a standstill. Very quickly, the local East-West Seed logistics teams in Tanzania and other countries in Africa worked closely with distributors in order to identify partners who could aid us in our tasks. We were able to bring down shipping costs within a few weeks, and this ensured seeds remained available. Today, these partnerships and methods that we enacted due to COVID have actually allowed us to deliver to certain countries that would not have been possible pre-COVID.

EWINDIA and EWBD worked hard to overcome challenges caused by the COVID-19 disruptions in 2020. We adopted a multi-tasked approach so that as the plant and operations teams continued to produce and pack seeds, the supply chain teams identified alternative means of distribution. We worked with the Rotary Club of Aurangabad to distribute 40 tons of food to 10,000 community members. We also distributed hand sanitizers and dispensers to police personnel. Through all of the trials and tribulations, we persevered as a company and helped ensure that farmers throughout India continued having access to quality seeds.

LATIN AMERICA Although we faced many challenges in 2020, such as limited freight options, longer lead times from airlines cargo and increased government bureaucracy, we were able to not only reduce freight cost, but also improve the shipping times and availability of our seeds with our distributors. Moreover, in 2021, we converted our logistical hub in the Netherlands from a pilot project to a fully operational entity. This helped us to ship seeds to our distributors faster and more efficiently. Definitely it was an extremely challenging year that led us to learn better ways to integrate our supply chain business unit with our distributors.

EAST-WEST SEED

COVID-19 SPECIAL CONTENT

3. STAYING CONNECTED TO EMPLOYEES, FARMERS, CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent disruptions to transportation and logistics networks forced us to swiftly devise innovative solutions to stay in contact with our employees, farmers and partners. We quickly moved to implement digital and online initiatives that ensured we stay connected with our employees, partners and farmers during this uncertain time. As we move forward, we will use the lessons learned during the 2020 pandemic to further grow and improve our digital outreach and online training programs, in order to become a more innovative and adaptable company.

EWPH (East-West Seed Philippines)

EWINDO (East-West Seed Indonesia)

During the 2020 lockdown, communicating with farmers and growers throughout the country was limited due to COVID restrictions. In light of this, EWPH launched VeggiEskwela Online on Facebook. This webinar series aimed to help farmers and home gardeners increase their knowledge of vegetable growing and also encourage more people to engage in farming and gardening.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our field team at EWINDO continued to make in-person visits to assist farmers, although we enacted strict safety protocols that included limiting the number of people at gatherings, wearing masks, and maintaining personal hygiene. We also carried out digital activities both nationally and locally. Since the onset of COVID-19 in Indonesia, we have conducted 72 webinars also in collaboration with external parties, and a total of 40 live broadcasts on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube nationally and garnered more than 120,000 views. In addition, our field employees also conducted more than 1,650 digital campaigns locally including a variety of online meetings such as virtual farmer field days and comparison studies. Our digital campaign included content on the subjects of horticulture, plant cultivation, pest and disease prevention, and urban farming.

Throughout the year, we conducted 47 webinars garnering more than 600,000 views on topics such as vegetable farming as a business, home gardening, improved practices for commercial vegetable farming, and pest and disease management. We were also able to directly train participants at 33 schools and urban neighborhoods as part of the program. Our field marketing team conducted 600 online events with their networks, reaching more than 170,000 participants. Finally, in May, we launched our first e-commerce store on Lazada so our vegetable seeds could become more accessible, especially to those residing in urban areas.

EAST-WEST SEED

EWTH (East-West Seed Thailand) Due to government-imposed travel restrictions enacted throughout the country, the team at EWTH immediately put in place a plan to stay in contact with farmers and growers so we could continue serving them and ensuring seed supply was maintained. This included quickly launching several online stores that marketed and sold our small seed packs. Also, as part of our “Growing Happiness” campaign targeting urban growers, we organized a vegetable garden in Bangkok’s biggest downtown hospital. Moreover, we continued holding urban grower workshops on a monthly basis, attracting hundreds of participants, with overwhelmingly positive feedback.

EWCB (East-West Seed Cambodia) Throughout 2020, the Cambodian government enacted stringent measures to reduce movement between provinces. After an initial period of using a skeleton workforce, we put in place strict safety measures for working in the office and the field. We worked diligently to provide our farmers with technical assistance and keep them informed via online social communication platforms. As our field teams were unable to travel outside their province, we organized online seminars with dealers to provide information on new products and technical knowledge. We strove to maintain high spirits and keep our employees digitally informed about the business progress and share knowledge needed during this difficult time. We worked hard to protect the country’s food chain by ensuring our seeds remained available and reached the farmers on time. Successful external and internal co-operations helped us reach our 2020 sales targets.

AFRICA In the pre-COVID era, our teams in Africa relied heavily on our staff travelling long distances to interact with or train promoters. However, due to travel restrictions across the continent in 2020 stemming from various governments’ measures, we changed our focus to empowering promoters so they could continue serving farmers in the key growing areas where they could still move freely. To ensure we upheld the quality of service to farmers, we began holding virtual meetings and training sessions monthly. During these online meetups, our distributor promoters across West Africa and East Africa and our employees would connect to exchange knowledge. These sessions proved enormously helpful at raising the skill level of promoters. We plan to continue holding these sessions as a key activity even after the COVID restrictions are lifted because we now have a well-connected field staff that provides us with valuable market insights. As we realized the importance of communication on all our digital platforms during the COVID times, we developed different social media campaigns such as social media training on products and training on product management in general.

EWIN & EWBD (East-West Seed India and East-West Seed Bangladesh) EWINDIA and EWBD prioritized embracing digital communication tools including e-Connect, WhatsApp, and Facebook to stay in touch with smallholder farmers and provide them with the support they needed during COVID. To ensure uninterrupted last-mile delivery, we embraced e-commerce and partnered with four agri-tech platforms that collectively have a reach of more than 1.2 million farmers. Under the partnership, farmers can now order our products online and get last-mile delivery directly to their homes while following hygiene and social distancing practices. We introduced two new high-yielding tomato hybrids: Shreya and Ria, which are being prized for their suitability for transport over long distances, helping smallholder farmers overcome logistical challenges in these testing times. Our digital outreach platform e-Connect helped us stay in touch with farmers across India. During the lockdown, we connected with more than 250,000 farmers and trained them through the digital platform, offering them crop advisory and helping them with their questions/concerns. Leveraging digital tools, we conducted 36 virtual crop trials. In addition, cross-functional teams conducted Facebook Live sessions giving information about the consumer market, agronomy, and disease management. To also help growers who stuck at home during the various lockdowns, we expanded our GoGrow kitchen garden vegetable seed packs through the e-commerce platform BigHaat.

EWMM (East-West Seed Myanmar) Because of restrictions put in place by the Myanmar government to limit the movement of people, our team faced hurdles in performing trials and field demo activities with local farmers. To work within the government restrictions, our Product Development Support team used social platforms to conduct trial activities remotely for farmers. Meanwhile, our commercial team reactivated the EWMM Facebook page for the purpose of marketing activities and communicating with farmers. The page has now grown its subscriber count to more than 17,000 followers. In addition to serving as a method of communication, the Facebook page also includes useful information such as an FAQ of our products, details about plant cultivation, and farming knowledge sharing.

LATIN AMERICA Taking the opportunity of technology integration with non-technological farmers and distributors, our team in Latin America organized 10 webinars that were targeted at helping farmers and distributors. These webinars were meant to improve farm management for specific crops such as papaya, tomato and onion, but they also contained information on more generalized topics such as irrigation and disease management.

2020 EWS KEY HIGHLIGHTS

EAST-WEST SEED

1. EAST-WEST SEED IN TOP 30 OF FORTUNE’S LIST East-West Seed (EWS) was ranked at number 28 out of 53 in FORTUNE’s annual “Change the World” list of companies that are doing well by doing good.

RANK

FORTUNE’s annual “Change the World” list is intended to showcase the power of capitalism to improve the human condition by identifying companies that have made an important social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations. The initial solicitation and assessment of nominees are conducted in partnership with the Shared Value Initiative, a global platform for organizations seeking business solutions to social challenges. A team of journalists from FORTUNE then investigates each of the candidates independently. The final list is selected and ranked by the editors of FORTUNE based on the magazine’s own reporting and analysis. EWS was selected based on our achievements ranked by

In 2016, EWS was ranked #1 in Access to Seeds Index overall and #1 in Eastern Africa.

In 2018 and 2019, we retained the #1 ranking in Access to Seeds Index (global and South/SE Asia).

the Access to Seed Index, the World Food Prize and importantly our continuous work and dedication to improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers.

#ChangeTheWorld #EWSChangesTheWorld See the ranking

Full story

On June 10th, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President of the World Food Prize Foundation Kenneth M. Quinn announced Simon N. Groot as the 2019 World Food Prize Laureate.

2020 EWS KEY HIGHLIGHTS

2. OUR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT IN 2020

EAST-WEST SEED

BITTERGOURD “PRAGATI” very prolific hybrid with long harvesting period, attractive shiny dark green fruits which are firm and have a good shelf life, has intermediate resistance to powdery mildew

PUMPKIN “BELLA” a high-yielding and vigorous large flat round pumpkin with a deep yellow-orange flesh, thick flesh with a small cavity, good green color retention; has intermediate resistance to Squash leaf curl virus (SLCV)

ONION “EWR 401”

a mid-early maturing red onion variety highly suitable for kharif or rainy season production; it has a flat globe shape attractive red bulbs with very good bulb uniformity, good scale and a higher percentage of single-centre

BREEDING INNOVATION OUR PRODUCTS, OUR PRIDE RIDGE GOURD “PHARAOH” The number of in-house bred new products with great sales have increased from one new product in 2019 to five new

a highly prolific and vigorous luffa variety suitable for

products in 2020. Farmers have appreciated the value of

year-round cultivation; highly uniform cylindrical green

the different innovations on fruit quality and disease resistance

fruits which are firm; has intermediate resistance to

from these new products. Last year, 30 new products were

begomovirus, Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV)

decided for first-time for market introduction and another

and the potyvirus, Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV)

28 new products were relaunched in various countries.

TOMATO “SHREYA” a high yielding tomato variety with a very good setting, good heat tolerance, and produces uniform and very firm fruits which have good shelf life and transportability; it has intermediate resistance to the Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and good field resistance to foliar diseases

2020 EWS KEY HIGHLIGHTS

GROWTH THROUGH PIONEERING & INNOVATION

GROWTH THROUGH LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

• To sustain our market leadership and gain more market

• In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, we successfully

share, we emphasized trait discovery for High-Impact Traits

launched Session 1 of the 3rd batch of the ‘Advanced Plant

(HITs) where at least one HIT was identified for the top

Breeding (APB) Program’ virtually with 15 breeders/

priority crops.

researchers from six countries (Thailand, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Guatemala and Tanzania) participating.

• 43 high-impact Integrated Breeding (IB) projects covering 15 crops were signed off to ensure pipeline deliverables

• 20 R&D talents from various disciplines and countries

linked to the Crop Master Plan (CMP) are on-track; 83% of

have actively participated and benefited from the first

milestones were achieved versus 80% target.

phase of the LinkedIn Learning program. • We conducted over 80 Virtual Seminars across 4 countries; India, the Philippines, Thailand and Guatemala in order to share R&D information, best practices and to stimulate team learning and critical thinking.

EAST-WEST SEED

OUR R&D TALENTS JOURNEY

IN R&D, WE STAY DIGITALLY CONNECTED TOO

In our 2020 journey alone, 7 in-house talents were promoted

• Connecting with Farmers via Facebook Live Webinars to

in various R&D roles while 3 were given developmental

help them in their pest and disease management for various

assignments to prepare them for higher or expanded roles.

vegetable crops. • Due to travel restrictions, we have conducted virtual field evaluations to ensure continuity of product testing and advancements. Virtual conferences and webinars were also conducted. • Internally, exciting results and R&D developments were shared through 4 issues of ‘R&D Newsfeed’

2020 EWS KEY HIGHLIGHTS

3. PLANTING THE SEEDS OF DIGITAL AGRICULTURE The world is rapidly changing, which means innovative farming approaches are more urgent than ever before. From climate change to increasing food and nutrition demands, the challenges we face require accurate data to enable smarter and more effective actions. OFFLINE BECOMES ONLINE: DIGITAL AGRICULTURE INNOVATIONS

DIGITAL INNOVATIONS AT EAST-WEST SEED

Technology enables data-driven decision-making processes

• Digital Plant Breeding

that support ‘digital farming’ activities. The challenge in

• Green House automation in Thailand

agriculture, however, is synchronizing things that are traditionally

• Monitoring & evaluation by East-West Seed

‘offline’ to digital ecosystems for innovative farming methods. These technologies are the different ways in which we are

• Knowledge Transfer • Digital Finance

continually innovating for our farmers and business partners

• Digitization of Sales and Marketing activities

to grow both their businesses and healthier food for the

• Digitization of Seed Production Processes in the field

world.

EAST-WEST SEED

4. ACTIVE EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENTS Wichai Laocharoenpornkul, General Manager of East-West Seed Thailand began his tenure as the new President of the Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA) during the regional seed trade association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually on November 26, 2020. Wichai was elected to the APSA Executive Committee in November 2016, and appointed in 2017 APSA Treasurer, before being elected as Vice President in 2018.

National Seed Technology Park project of the Philippine Department of Agriculture Mary Ann Sayoc as President of the Philippine Seed Industry Association facilitated the engagement of Naktuinbouw (Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture) through a virtual scoping mission arranged by the Dutch embassy and funded by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The 2-week scoping mission aimed to provide the Department of Agriculture with recommendations on the technical aspects and capacity-building activities of the proposed National Seed Technology Park.