2019 Field Days showcase innovative vegetable varieties, draw huge crowds to East-West Seed

Customers from 22 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America arrived in Thailand during the weeklong field showcase themed “Partners in Success” from 15-20 January in two locations: East-West Seed’s R&D center in Chiang Mai and its global headquarters in Nonthaburi. Participants came from Brunei, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam.

During the public days, the company welcomed more than 30,000 people who were curious about growing vegetables in their own homes. The company sold over 17,000 pouches of Go Grow and Value Pack seeds in a span of 3 days. The theme of the public days was “Happiness can be grown”, encouraging vegetable home gardening as a worthwhile hobby and a source of safe and nutritious food for the family.

East-West Seed founder and honorary chairman, Simon N Groot.

Founder and honorary chairman Simon Groot officially inaugurated the event, expressing his “sense of pride in seeing a beautiful field of vegetables, a reminder of what this company truly stands for -- serving smallholder vegetable farmers with quality seeds of improved vegetable varieties that will help them grow their productivity and income.”

Over 300 vegetable varieties were on display in the field, including new products from major crop families like brassica, solanaceae, cucurbits, as well as corn, okra, legumes, papaya, and marigold.

Tech-savvy growers used the CropWiki app developed by East-West Seed, where users scan the QR code on the field tags to see more information about the products. CropWiki is available for download from the App Store (for iOS users) and Google Play (for Android users).

Download CropWiki from your app store here:

In Chiang Mai, the field featured several booths including the “Innovation Cafe” which highlighted the latest seed technologies and knowledge transfer; the “Taste Corner” with snacks and refreshments made from East-West Seed vegetable varieties; and the “EWS Supermarket” which displayed fresh vegetables for modern retail. 

In Nonthaburi, field day attendees got to “see, taste, shop, and share” the special vegetable varieties in a beautifully manicured field. It was the biggest crowd the company has ever hosted.

Earlier this year, East-West Seed was ranked #1 in the 2019 Access to Seeds Index for South and Southeast Asia, besting 23 other companies on commitment, performance, and transparency in 7 measurement areas: Governance & Strategy, Genetic Resources, Intellectual Property, Research & Development, Seed Production, Marketing & Sales, and Capacity Building.