East-West Seed is proud to announce its inclusion in Fortune magazine’s 2024 Change the World list, highlighting global companies that are ‘doing well by doing good.’ First listed in 2020, this marks the second time East-West Seed has made it into the ranking in five years.
East-West Seed is honored to be recognised for its positive impact on the livelihoods of vegetable farmers living in tropical regions.
“Being named on Fortune’s Change the World 2024 list is a great honor that reinforces our mission as a company to continue providing quality seeds and transferring knowledge to farmers through our Foundation, serving the lives of those who are the backbone of our food systems.” – JC Filippi, CEO of East-West Seed.
Since the company was established 1982, driven by its mission to enhance farmers’ livelihoods, East- West Seed has established a business model focused on the needs of farmers; developing and offering high-quality tropical vegetable seeds, while training farmers on sustainable and profitable farming techniques for better income, and helping them recognize the benefits of improved seed varieties. As such, East-West Seed has consistently ranked in the top #3 of the Access to Seeds Index in Asia and Africa. In 2019, Simon Groot, founder of East-West Seed, was honored with the World Food Prize.
East-West Seed, a Dutch family-owned company based in the Netherlands and its headquarters inThailand, specializes in breeding, producing, and distributing top-quality tropical vegetable seeds.
Its mission is to provide locally adapted seeds and innovative farming practices to help farmers improve crops, yields, and income. With over 2,800 employees, 22 R&D centers in 9 countries, exports to 80+ countries, and knowledge programs in 11 countries, the company has supported millions of farmers globally.
In 2015, East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT) was established to improve the production and business skills of smallholder farmers, with the aim of enhancing their livelihoods.
Today, the Foundation reaches over 150,000 farmers annually in Africa and Asia and is on track to train more than 1 million farmers by 2025, with 50% of farmers being women and 40% youth.
To date, a total of 840,000 farmers have benefited from Knowledge Transfer’s training programs.
In addition, the GrowHow digital platform, developed by EWS-KT, is part of an ongoing strategy to provide accessible learning resources for farmers, trainers, and agro-input dealers. This digital engagement aligns with the Foundation’s broader mission to utilize technology for effective farmer training, having reached over 41,000 people through GrowHow, more than 3 million via local radio programs, and more than 21 million through informative Facebook posts in the last year alone.
Through EWS-KT Foundation, East-West Seed company is more committed than ever to reaching more farmers globally and giving them access to good quality seeds of improved vegetable varieties, hand-in-hand with capacity training that can increase their productivity and income while improving the availability of nutritious food for a growing population.
The Change the World list recognizes companies that have had a positive social impact through
activities integral to their core business strategy. Selection criteria include: Measurable social impact: Assessing the reach, nature, and durability of the company’s impact on specific societal problems.
Business results: Evaluating the benefits the socially impactful work brings to the company, including profitability and shareholder value.
Degree of innovation: Considering how innovative the company’s efforts are relative to others in the industry and whether it has influenced peers.
