Globally, more than 780 million people face hunger. Yet, one-fifth of all food produced is lost or wasted before it is even consumed. That’s not just lost food—it’s lost income for farmers and added pressure on the environment. Food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UN News, 2024).
Reducing food loss and waste requires action across the entire food chain. We do our part by ensuring farmers have access to better seeds. We focus on breeding vegetables that meet the needs of smallholder farmers and perform well in tropical conditions where high heat, heavy rain, and pest pressure make losses more likely.
Breeding for Market Needs = Less Waste
One of the major causes of food loss and waste is the mismatch between what farmers grow and what the market demands. If vegetables don’t meet quality or size standards, retailers may reject them, even if they’re perfectly edible.
That’s why our breeders focus on traits that make a difference in real-life conditions.
“We observe farmer practices, postharvest outcomes, and market behavior. Not just stated preferences,” says Ekkachai Inchonnabot, one of our yardlong bean breeders.
As Renalyn Armilla, East-West Seed’s onion and papaya breeder, explains: “This process is driven by close collaboration among East-West Seed teams such as R&D, Product Development and Support, and Marketing. We align breeding objectives with farmer preferences and market requirements. This way, crops are more likely to succeed across the value chain.”
By staying close and deeply listening to the farmers and the market, we can breed crops that meet both farmer and market needs, reducing rejection, spoilage, and waste.
Reducing Losses in the Field
Food loss can also happen where food begins: in the field. East-West Seed aims to help reduce these losses by creating varieties that are:
- Resistant to major pests and diseases. For example, resistance to viral diseases, like the yellow mosaic virus in yardlong beans, is important because outbreaks can kill plants and cause large-scale field losses before harvest.
- Climate-resilient. We have tomato varieties like Padma F1 in Africa, which grow well in hot and humid growing conditions, and can grow well even during the rainy season. We also have hot pepper varieties like the Superheat F1 in the Philippines that are drought tolerant and are bred for farmers working in rainfed areas which lack sufficient rainfall.
Maintaining Quality After Harvest
Loss doesn’t stop at harvest. Bruising, cracking, and spoilage during storage and transport are common. Through plant breeding, we develop varieties that can withstand handling, travel farther, and stay fresh longer.
- In Thailand, where yardlong beans are eaten fresh and raw, shelf life and visual freshness are critical. Pods are typically harvested in the early morning and must remain crisp and green through late-morning or early-afternoon sales. If beans lose freshness by afternoon, they are rejected and wasted. Our Lum Nam Chi Plus variety has firm, thick pods that resist moisture loss and damage. They stay green and crisp for two to three days at room temperature, giving farmers more time to sell.
- In the Philippines, onion is planted in the dry season (October to December) and harvested from February to April. Since there’s only one harvest a year, storability is an important trait. Our open-pollinated varieties Super Pinoy and Red Pinoy are known for their good storage life of 5 to 8 months in cold storage.
- In Mexico, one of the world’s top papaya producers and exporters, we offer Maradona F1, a variety with extended shelf life. It stays marketable two to three days longer than other commercial varieties, lasting from full ripeness to the point of becoming overripe and soft.
By lasting longer and holding up during transport, more vegetables reach consumers in good condition.
Seeds may be small, but they play a big role in reducing food loss and waste. Through better varieties we help ensure that more of what is grown is eaten—and that farmers earn more from their work.
