Breeding for Market Development

Breeding for Market Development

Outline How it all began Company development Quality Seed Multiplier Conclusions

1981 SE Asia study tour Simon Groot Gerard Grubben Glenn Goldsmith

SE Asia During the early eighties the local seed industrycould best be characterized as a seed trading system Dependence on imported varieties Exchange of locally produced farmer saved seeds Mainly open pollinated varieties Poor yields and quality High post harvest losses

Imported varieties generally did not do well under local lconditions, particularly during the rainy season

Challenges & Constraints Climate Knowledge and Technology gaps Financing gaps Infrastructure t Diverse growing conditions and farming systems Diverse market and consumer preferences

Climate High Temp High humidity Heavy rains Typhoons Difficult Diffi lt to t grow crops off season High pest and di disease pressure

Knowledge & Technology gaps g gy gp Farmers Predominantly small scale Primitive crop production technology

Knowledge & Technology gaps gp Seed business Educational gaps: Plant breeding Local expertise 1 st breeding team Philippines R&D and Seed Production staff g pp R&D and Seed Production staff Thailand, early nineties

Financing gaps gp Farmers Production costs for vegetables tbl are generally much higher h than for field crops such as rice or corn Farmers are often resource poor and need access to credit and financing Financing of small farmers not attractive to banks Seed Business EW targeted Break Even 5 years Took 10 years

Infrastructure Poor farm to market roads High transport cost Lack of good postharvest facilities High ihlosses

Infrastructure EW breeders had to deal with the same problems Lipa City to Hortanova Farm = 8 kilometers Before Now 45 minutes 15 minutes

Diverse growing conditions and farming systems High G x E interaction Complex pest and disease problems, specific to locations

Diverse market and consumer preferences Requires good market knowledge farmers, traders and consumers Availability of a broad germplasm base a must for breeding

Higher yields Disease tolerance/resistance Improved shelf life and keeping quality Extended growing season Better taste and quality But the business development challenges were daunting.

Oh, East is East, West is West, and never the twain shall meet But there is neither East nor West, border, nor breed, nor birth, when two strong men stand face to face, tho they come from the ends of the earth! Rudyard Kipling The twain did meet. 1982 East-West Seed established in the Philippines Simon Groot in partnership with Benito Domingo saw an enormous potential to improve tropical vegetable varieties for local farmers Combining local market and production expertise from the East with seed business expertise from the West

2003 2000 2006 1984 1995 1982 1990

From Pioneer to Market Leader Before 1980 1980 1990 1990 2000 2000 present Trading of local OP selections and imported seeds Low quality EW pioneered local, market oriented breeding for local markets in SE Asia Others (e.g. Mahyco) did the same in India Established market leadership in SE Asia Ai Expansion into other markets: India/S /SAi Asia; China

New operations Tanzania EW Seed Production Afrisem, with Rijk Zwaan Guatemala As base for developments of markets in Central and South hamerica John Wester & company Africa Middle East

Organizational Heterosis Heterosis Germplasm Market Info Plant Breeder Marketeer

Quality Seed Multiplier Measures the additional farmers income for every dollar spent on quality seeds Gross Rev. of New Var. Gross Rev. of Old Var. Seed Cost of New Var. Seed Cost of Old Var.

Bittergourd Important Cucurbit with high market value First successful hybrid introductions for EW in bittergourd: in the Philippines, hl Thailand, Vietnam and India EW hybrid introductions transformed the crop from a semi commercial, small scale crop into a commercial crop EW has a dominant position in SE and S Asian Ai markets kt Strong resistance breeding program One of the biggest EW crops: 60 T hybrid seed

Quality Seed Multiplier Bittergourd Hybrids 241/242 in Vietnam vs. local OPV Variable Before After Intro Intro Seed Cost (VND/ha) 1,000,000 4,480,000 Marketable Yield (kg/ha) 18,000 40,000 Farm gate price (VND/kg) 1,200 1500 1,500 Total Gross Revenue 21,600,000 60,000,000 Exchange Rate: 20,000 VND = 1 USD Quality Seed Multiplier (QSM) = 11 For every additional VND spent on hybrid bittergourd seeds, y p y g, the farmer earns an additional 11 VND revenue compared to the old variety!

Hybrid Milestones Pumpkin Suprema in Vietnam: QSM = 37 Cucumber Micro C in Thailand: QSM = 20 Tomato D Max in the Philippines: QSM = 65 Eggplant Casino in the Philippines: QSM = 63

Milestones Improved OPV Kangkong Common, cheap, fast growing vegetable that nobody took seriously Improvements for germination, standability, uniformity In combination with improved physical seed quality and packaging Introduced in 1988 at more than double the seed price of regular seed 2010: > 800 T Ref: Kang kong, an important leaf vegetable in Asia : report of a fact finding mission to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, with a review of the available literature on Ipomoea aquatica forsk. Authors Jan Cornelis; Jan Arie Nugteren, 1982. Wageningen Agricultural University

Milestones improved OPV Long Bean EW has a good position in the two main long bean markets in SE Asia: Indonesia and Thailand Improved yield and pod quality First multi virus resistant varieties in the market in 2014

Our Markets Region/Country ntr population vegetable production million % ha % Veg consumption per capita (kg) SE Asia 590 87% 8.7% 3,216,187 187 61% 6.1% 52 India 1,166 17.2% 5,904,800 11.2% 65 China 1,338 19.7% 23,717,182 45.0% 280 Europe 830 12.2% 4,499,713 8.5% 117 N America 307 4.5% 1,331,192 2.5% 127 Japan 127 1.9% 438,850 0.8% 106 World 6,790 100.0% 52,705,297 100.0% CIA The World Fact Book FAO Stat 2007 FAO Stat 2007

East West Seed Created dramatic plant breeding breakthroughs for vegetable farmers in tropical Asia through a combination of excellent seedmanship, extensive knowledge of local markets and local plant breeding Played a key role in the development of the region s vegetable industry by local plant breeding, high quality standards and introduction of better production technology Today, we are the world s leading breeder and distributor of tropicalvegetable seeds

Summary and Conclusions The evolution of the fast growing commercial ilseed market ktis largely due to farmers recognition of the economic benefits of high quality seeds Value adding by private sector plant breeders will further expand the commercial seed market in SE and S Asia The knowledge and expertise developed to overcome the constraints in SE Asian vegetable industry can be harnessed to support development of the vegetable seed markets and vegetable production systems in other tropical countries

Happy Farmers 3,500 MT seed = 300 billion seeds = >30 3,500 MT seed 300 billion seeds >30 million Happy Farmers