East-West Seed, a leading tropical vegetable seed company, today announced the appointment of Dr. Kanokwan (May) Chodchoey as Group Head, Public Affairs, effective 1st September 2023. Dr. May will bring her extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, government relations, policy-making, and public affairs management, most recently from the Asia Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA), where she served as Executive Director and CEO. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. May to East-West Seed,” said Maaike Groot, Global Head, Communications and Public Affairs. “Her arrival signals our strong ambition to build upon our reputation and know-how globally.” 

In her role as Group Head, Public Affairs, Dr. May will be responsible for developing and implementing public affairs strategies and initiatives. She will also monitor and advise on industry issues and policy changes and collaborate with all stakeholders to create an impactful and equitable engagement. 

“I’m delighted to take on the Group Head of Public Affairs role at East-West Seed and contribute my knowledge and experience toward enhancing the lives of smallholder farmers,” said Dr. May “I look forward to collaborating with all our stakeholders to encourage meaningful and equitable engagement with farmers and external partners.”

Along with this development, Dr. Mary Ann Sayoc will be taking on a new role as Group Head,
Partnerships and Alliances from 1st September 2023. She will be responsible for identifying,
developing, and nurturing strategic connections while representing EWS at the highest international level in multilateral organizations. 

About East-West Seed

Founded by Dutch seedsman Simon Groot in 1982, East-West Seed has become one of the world’s leading vegetable seed companies in Asia and has a strong presence in Africa and Latin America. East-West Seed is committed to its mission of improving livelihoods for vegetable farmers, the company has focused on developing tropical vegetable varieties adapted to local growing conditions and educating farmers on production and farming skills. Ranked at the top of the Access to Seeds Index for South and Southeast Asia, East-West Seed was also named number 28 on Fortune’s Change the World list of companies doing good. Headquartered in Nonthaburi, Thailand, the company employs over 2,800 people and has set up 20 research and development facilities in nine different countries, exporting to over 75 tropical nations and reaching close to 20 million farmers worldwide.

www.eastwestseed.com

For more information:
Sariyaporn Srisuksawad
Group Manager, Corporate Communications
Email:sariyaporn.srisuksawad@eastwestseed.com

It seems like only yesterday when Douwe Zijp officially began his role as CEO in December 2020. Those two and a half years was truly an incredible run. As he moves on to rejoin the EWS Supervisory Board, let’s take a moment to look back at his time as CEO in this exclusive interview.

1. In your time as CEO, there’s been a lot of improvement to the company structure for our growing company. How do you see the current structure you are leaving behind?

Douwe: One of my targets, when I started as the CEO, was a better organizational structure with a very diverse Managing Board that would lead the company and set its direction. Besides the Managing Board, we have adjusted our structure a bit in order to become even more efficient in our goal to drive operational excellence. As we are growing as a company and getting an even stronger market position in the tropical area, we also have to make sure our systems and support functions are up-to-date. I think we have made huge steps in the right direction but will have to continue to improve our systems while always keeping our innovative culture.

2. East-West Seed is a purpose-driven company with a strong mission and vision. What is your recommendation to all the talents who would want to work with EWS?

Douwe: I do hope that all future employees understand that East-West Seed is a very special company, with a clear focus on its purpose. Being a commercial company we have to earn our own money and make sure our company stays healthy enough to pay all the bills now and in the future. But above that, we are really committed to doing the best we can for our smallholder farmers. Many companies nowadays talk about how they care about smallholder farmers. But it’s East-West Seed that is really making a difference. Younger generations are more and more focused on doing the right thing. On leaving a positive impact and dedicating their work to a higher purpose. At East-West Seed, we have been doing that for 40 years now. So people who join us can truly make a difference and do something beyond just a job. At East-West Seed, we support smallholder farmers with better seeds for better yield because farmers are at the heart of everything we do.

3. How do you see the future of agriculture and smallholder farmers shaping up in the coming decades?

Douwe: It is our mission to support smallholder farmers. If we are successful many of them will grow further and become more professional. We will continue to support farmers all over the tropical world. We have done that in Asia for 40 years now and we expanded our business to Latin America and Africa where there are still an uncountable number of smallholder farmers that are in need of support. With the help of East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer, a foundation whose purpose is to train smallholder farmers in tropical countries, we will always focus on the needs of our farmers and help improve their lives.

I expect that farmers in tropical countries will slowly become bigger and more professional. They will earn a bit more and be able to invest in their business to get better results. Also, the demand for healthy food and especially vegetables will increase with the result that farmers can earn more money if they can supply good quality food to their customers. 

This development will take a while because change always does. Especially in agriculture. For us as a company with a ten-year horizon, it is important to anticipate it. But whatever will happen in the market, there will always be smallholder farmers that need our support to grow their crops successfully.

The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) and the East-West Seed Philippines (EWPH) have signed an agreement to train young farmers in vegetable farming and agri-entrepreneurship.

Glenn Gregorio, Searca director, signed the memorandum of agreement (MoA) with East-West Seed for the project titled “Yabong,” or Young Agripreneurs Building Opportunities, Nurturing Growth Bootcamp, that also intends to showcase stories of young agri-entrepreneurs to inspire more of the youth to engage in vegetable farming.

The MoA was signed at the East-West Seed Hortanova Research Center in Lipa City, Batangas, with the seed company represented by General Manager Jose Marie “Jay” Lopez.

Witnesses to the MoA were associate professor Joselito Florendo, Searca deputy director for administration, and Roderick Bayaborda, East-West Seed technology manager and Yabong Bootcamp program lead.

“We can work together on bringing in or developing young Filipino entrepreneurs who would like to go into farming,” Lopez said.

These are the School-Plus-Home Gardens Project and the Searca Hub for Agriculture and Rural Innovation for the Next Generation or Sharing.

Gregorio also expressed optimism on future collaborations with East-West Seeds.

Thanking Searca for partnering with East-West Seeds, Mary Ann Sayoc, East-West Seed group public affairs lead, cited previous Searca-East-West Seed collaborations like the Innovation Olympics 2.

“The Yabong Bootcamp would take Innovation Olympics 2 to a higher notch, given the project’s technical skills training, funding and marketing components,” she said.

Bayaborda also voiced the need to make farming “a sexy enterprise and profitable business.”

Gregorio said the bootcamp will be conducted in a hybrid modality, combining both online and hands-on sessions on vegetable production and entrepreneurship to be delivered by industry experts and practitioners.

He explained that for its first run, the bootcamp will accept 20 young farmers with at least one year of farming experience. They will be screened based on their dedication to pursuing vegetable farming as a business, willingness to serve as a model young farmer, and entrepreneurial mindset and innovativeness.

Also during the signing ceremony, Gregorio shared other Searca initiatives promoting youth engagement in agriculture.

Originally published in The Manila Times, August 17, 2023

 

Fellow colleagues of East-West Seed,

Today, we take a moment to celebrate the journey of Jonathan Kressin, our pre-breeder for tomatoes and legumes. With a strong academic background and an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of smallholder farmers, Jonathan joined East-West Seed (EWS) in 2018 and has since carved out a path for himself, which we are excited to share with you below.

In the world of research and development, pre-breeding marks the beginning of the R&D pipeline. Jonathan’s role as a pre-breeder is a quest to unearth traits that add value to the lives of smallholder farmers. Whether it is enhancing disease resistance or improving crop tolerance to adverse weather conditions, Jonathan’s work enhances the bedrock of the variety breeder’s germplasm.

His day-to-day activities range from analyzing data and observing plants in the field to collaborating with various departments within EWS, such as biotechnology and plant pathology. Jonathan also focuses on designing and managing trait-focused breeding projects and developing molecular markers for precise trait selection.

Journey of patience

One of the remarkable aspects of Jonathan’s work is the long-term investment it demands. Breeding is a patient and intricate process that can span more than a decade, but Jonathan understands that every step he takes today paves the way for a brighter future. A recent accomplishment for him and his team was the completion of a set of multi-location phenotyping trials intended to identify tropical adaptation genes in tomatoes. This success, however, represents an important milestone and several years of hard work and collaboration with variety breeders across the tropics.

Jonathan plays a vital role in the research and development of crops. With a Master’s and Ph.D. in plant breeding and pathology from North Carolina State University, he joined EWS in 2018, driven by a passion for agriculture. His main focus is creating top-quality tomato and yardlong bean elite parental lines with new and improved traits that cater to the different needs of the variety breeders in EWS.

Although being a pre-breeder comes with challenges, Jonathan remains determined to make a positive impact, even if it takes five to ten years to see results.

Innovation

For Jonathan, innovation embodies creativity, problem-solving, and the effective implementation of ideas. As a pre-breeder, he consistently questions the status quo, asking, “What if you had this new trait?” and “Can we do this better?” His ongoing curiosity and openness to new ideas makes him a source of innovation.

“…just about every bit of plant food that we eat has come from the creativity of a plant breeder and the hard work of a farmer. That is a pretty special legacy to be a part of.”

Thrill of discovery: What keeps Jonathan going

Jonathan’s motivation comes from the joy of discovery. Like an explorer of old, he delves into the depths of biological complexity, unearthing hidden treasures that hold the potential to transform agriculture. The prospect of making farmers’ lives better is what fuels his passion and determination.

Inspiring the Next Generation

To aspiring pre-breeders and breeders, Jonathan offers invaluable advice. He emphasizes the importance of education and experience, urging them to stay curious and open to learning. Listening, he believes, is the key to gaining wisdom and honing the art of breeding, a skill that comes with time and mentorship.

Collaboration is a key aspect for a breeder, and Jonathan values teamwork. He collaborates with other breeders, universities, and organizations globally to create a sustainable future with improved crops. His advice to aspiring breeders is simple but powerful: “Continuous learning is key! Aspiring breeders can thrive with dedication and diverse experiences in the complex field of modern plant breeding.”

For more insight into Jonathan’s passion for discovery and innovation, along with his commitment to farmers’ well-being, watch the video below. With him and other skilled breeders, we are moving towards a future with more sustainable and plentiful vegetables that benefit everyone.

7kg bag of seed picture

 

“A 7kg bag of seed would feed more than 300,000 people their average consumption of tomatoes for a WHOLE YEAR! And, at the same time, over 900 tropical farmers would earn a living from growing those seeds. As a seed company working in the tropics, EWS is trying to help develop 15,000 of those bags each year. I find that astonishing! It is pretty cool to think that I breed tomatoes for more than 2 billion people…”

The current status of biodiversity is a matter of great concern. We are seeing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity with nearly a million animal and plant species now threatened with extinction according to a United Nations scientific report. Human-induced changes to the environment—such as habitat loss, resource overexploitation, pollution, invasive species introduction, and climate change—are a major contributor to biodiversity loss.

“The loss of biodiversity threatens our global ecosystem, food security and public health. It is our  shared responsibility to  spread awareness on the importance of biodiversity as our insurance to securing food and health for the future generations. We need to act now to halt or reverse biodiversity loss by understanding and promoting the sustainable use of our biological resources,” shared Dr. Marilyn Belarmino, East-West Seed Genetic Resource Manager.

Preserving genetic diversity

Seeds hold the power to regenerate species, promote biodiversity and help ecosystems adjust to a constantly changing environment. In an effort to conserve agricultural biodiversity and ensure the sustainability of our planet, East-West Seed through our Genetic Resource Management Function supports the Centre for Genetic Resources, an international genebank in the Netherlands, and local gene banks in the Philippines and in Indonesia. We are regenerating their seed collections to ensure that these are preserved for future generations. 

We likewise acquire diverse germplasm, including wild crop relatives and heirlooms, from gene banks, research institutions, and other sources to support our pre-breeding, breeding and research programs. By doing so, East-West Seed actively supports the preservation of these materials to ensure that they do not disappear as farmers switch to more improved varieties in their attempt to combat the effects of climate change.

Practising seed diversity

East-West Seed promotes planting diverse crops to our farmers. When farmers cultivate a variety of crops, they create a more complex and diverse ecosystem that can support a wider range of wildlife, insects, and microorganisms. This, in turn, can help maintain a healthy balance in the ecosystem, and promote biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. 

Our East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer team established a technical support hub in Chiangmai, Thailand, which demonstrates planting diversity and crop rotation, along with sustainable farming practices.

Supporting sustainable agriculture

With the aim to balance the needs of our smallholder farmers, their communities, the economy, and the environment, East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer provides sustainable vegetable production techniques through our demo fields. We advocate sustainable agriculture practices such as organic or low-input farming methods, agroforestry, rotating crops to maintain soil health and fertility, conserving water and energy, minimizing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and supporting local food systems.

By promoting sustainable agriculture, we help conserve natural resources, protect biodiversity, while promoting economic growth and social equity.

Douwe Zijp will step down as CEO of East-West Seed on 1 April 2023. He will be succeeded by Jean-Christophe (JC) Filippi. 

 

Ard Groot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: “Under Douwe’s leadership our new corporate strategy was launched, and our governance structure and company culture were strengthened. Douwe’s purpose-driven and people-oriented leadership has been an inspiration to us all and I want to thank him in the name of our shareholder families and the Supervisory Board. We are very happy that JC Filippi will be joining East-West Seed in April. He brings extensive experience in international agribusiness to our team. With him as CEO East-West Seed will be led by a Managing Board consisting of six people, three men and three women from six different nationalities. As the Chairman I’m very proud to see this much diversity in the company.” 

 

Douwe Zijp adds: “When I joined East-West Seed as CEO in 2020, we knew this to be only for a few years. I am glad to continue my involvement by rejoining the Supervisory Board. I leave East-West Seed in the hands of a very capable successor.” 

 

JC Filippi brings extensive senior leadership and business development experience in agribusiness, life sciences and food industry across Asia. Before joining East-West Seed, JC was the President for Asia Pacific at Phibro Animal Health Corporation, after holding various managing director roles at Cargill and being the CEO of the Gold Coin Group. 

 

“Living close to East-West Seed’s headquarters in Bangkok, I have long admired the company and its mission to serve smallholder farmers. The company is deeply rooted in its purpose with a long-term commitment of its founders and shareholders,” says JC Filippi. “I am very much looking forward to leading the team through the next phase of growth, building on its current strategy to grow people and markets, with innovation and sustainability as foundation.” 

 

As CEO, JC Filippi will be supported by a diverse and gender-balanced Managing Board: 

 

Katalin Pákozdi (Chief Research and Development Officer)

Ratiporn Ratcharoen (Chief Finance Officer)

Cathlea Barote (Chief People Officer)

Dilip Rajan (Chief Operating Officer)

Joost van Elzakker (Chief Commercial Officer)

 

 

International Women’s Day, taking place on 8 March, is a time to celebrate women’s contributions to the workplace. At East-West Seed, we also see it as an opportunity for us to make our workplaces more inclusive and address barriers to women’s success and well-being.

The theme of this year’s IWD is #EmbraceEquity. We therefore are inviting our colleagues across all functions at the East-West Seed headquarters to embrace gender equity and share their experiences on this and other relevant topics at the workplace. 

What is equity? According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, gender equity means fairness of treatment for men and women according to their respective needs. This may include equal treatment or treatment that is different but which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations, and opportunities.

East-West Seed is proud to take firm action in providing fair and equal opportunities based on our people’s needs, regardless of gender. We work to ensure our family of employees have equal access to opportunities, helping us work toward an end to gender imbalances. This is not empty rhetoric but a core foundational belief that we consistently put into action. 

We believe that it is respect that not only lies at the heart of gender equality in the workplace, but is also a key component in making a company successful. 

As part of internal research, we found that gender diversity has a positive outcome on the effectiveness of our teams EWS. A work group with a balanced gender mix may offer a better representation of varied knowledge and skills. However, diversity is not just about having the right balance between genders — we must also ensure there is no room for unconscious gender bias in the workplace. 

At East-West Seed, we are creating a safe working environment to empower all of our people.

At East-West Seed, we believe diversity and inclusion can help lift up the lives of millions of smallholder farmers. We continue to create a safe working environment to empower all of our workers and stakeholders. See below to learn how inclusion inspires us at work.

 

Be a part of a team that helps you grow. Check out career opportunities at East-West Seed: https://lnkd.in/gPS3sQgg

As part of the ongoing celebration of our 40th anniversary, East West Seed Thailand held a field day event over a span of five days at its headquarters in Nonthaburi, Thailand. During the event, we held fun and conceptual workshops from our experts, and showcased our more than 200 varieties of innovative seed products.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Remco van Wijngaarden, Netherlands ambassador to Thailand, EWS CEO Douwe Zijp and EWS Thailand General Manager Wichai Laocharoenpornkul. More than 700 EWS farmers were invited to the event to attend workshops, enjoy educational booths and to visit our fields.

 

This included four Thai farmers who were featured in the “40 farmers, 40 years of EWS” promotional program and book. Also, 100 APSA delegates attended the event as part of their post-congress tour. In total, attendance topped more than 40,000 as we celebrated 40 years under the theme, Netherlands in Thailand. 

 

 

 

East West Seed took part in the 27th annual Asian Seed Congress, co-organized by the Asia & Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA) and the Thai Seed Trade Association (THASTA) and held at the Bangkok Convention Center from November 14 to 18. The highlight at the event, Michel Devarrewaere, East-West Seed Vice President, was honored to receive the award for the Most Influential Seed Technologist in the Asia-Pacific region. 

For more than 32 years, Michel Devarrewaere has dedicated his working life to improving seed quality in Asia through a combination of persistence, innovation and dedication. Beginning with a project for the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1990 and through to his current role as Vice President of Seed Operations at East-West Seed in Thailand, Michel has overseen numerous projects putting innovation and technology at the forefront for the betterment of farmers and consumers in Asia.

 

This book celebrates 40 years of East-West Seed: 1982-2022. What started as a simple idea has become an incredible adventure. For 40 years, our farmers have done the hard work, it is time to honor them. In this book 40 farmers represent the approximately 23 million farmers worldwide that grow seeds from East-West Seed. They share their experience and their knowledge. Enjoy their stories, we hope to keep working together towards a bright future!