A delegation from East-West Seed recently traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, to attend the 2025 International Seed Federation’s World Seed Congress, where more than 1,600 delegates from across the global seed industry gathered. The event, held under the theme “Discovering Bold Horizons,” focused on the challenges and innovations shaping the future of the seed sector.
Maaike Groot, our Head of Communications, Public and Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability, joined a panel discussion on “Sowing Sustainable Responsibility for Agriculture.” She shared East-West Seed’s commitment to smallholder farmers and the crucial role seeds play in building better livelihoods. As Maaike put it, “Seeds are tiny caskets of hope. They carry the power to lift farmers out of poverty.”
She highlighted our ongoing efforts to increase access to high-quality seeds and provide practical training in underserved areas. This work is especially vital in Africa, where degraded soils and climate stress continue to threaten food security and farmer incomes.
A key moment at the Congress was the keynote by Dr. Cary Fowler, 2024 World Food Prize Laureate, who emphasized the alarming rise in hunger, undernutrition, and child stunting in Africa. He pointed to opportunity crops such as pumpkin as part of the solution, and spotlighted the role of the VACS program (Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils) in reversing these trends. His mention of indigenous crops was particularly of interest, given our own commitment to this.
As proud VACS champions, East-West Seed fully supports the push to scale nutritious, climate-smart vegetables like pumpkin across the continent. This vision strongly aligns with Simon Groot’s rallying call for one million acres of pumpkins in Africa. With KT also reinforcing this direction, pumpkin has become a symbol of our collaborative mission to improve nutrition and livelihoods in the region.
The Congress affirmed that while challenges in the seed industry remain, opportunity is within reach, especially when we focus on the crops that matter most to farmers and families.
From improving seed access to scaling climate-smart crops, we are ready to grow impactful solutions with partners across the value chain in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. For collaboration opportunities or media inquiries, please get in touch to start the conversation.
