Simon Groot

    Story

    Simon N. Groot is the founder of East-West Seed and the World Food Prize Laureate 2019.

    Simon Groot is a 6th generation descendant of the family that laid the foundation of the Dutch vegetable seed industry. During his many travels as marketing director of the family seeds business Sluis & Groot (now Syngenta) he had noticed the poverty of smallholder farmers in South East Asia, and the need for high-quality seed so farmers could increase their productivity and income.

    In 1982 Simon Groot started East-West Seed in the Philippines in cooperation with the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam and Filipino seed trader Benito Domingo. A team of young breeders from Wageningen University (WUR) and from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB) started to develop hybrid vegetable varieties. 
    In 1986 ‘Jade Star’ was introduced, the first locally developed commercial bitter gourd in tropical Asia. Soon tomato and eggplant varieties followed, plus pumpkin, several brassicas and leafy vegetables like kangkong. 

    Simon Groot soon extended his activities throughout South and Southeast Asia: Thailand in 1984, Indonesia in 1990, Vietnam in 1995, India in 2003, Myanmar in 2009, Tanzania, Guatemala and Cambodia soon followed. 

    In 2011 Simon Groot received a “Doctor of Science in Agricultural Sciences, Honoris Causa” from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the university council of Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand, in recognition of his work in vegetable plant breeding and the development of plant breeding programs in Thailand and in tropical Asia.

    Simon Groot has been an inspiration to other seedsmen, who followed his initiative in developing the seed markets in Asia. In 1994, he was one of the founding fathers and after that an active member of the Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA), and in 2003 of a consortium of vegetable breeders to support AVRDC  - The World Vegetable Center - with funds and expertise. He was honored with a lifetime membership of APSA in 2014. In 2015, he was awarded the Mansholt Business Award for Sustainable Entrepreneurship at Wageningen University.

    Read his full story below

     

    Bio

    Team : Supervisory Board

    Current position : Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board & Founder, East-West Seed Group

    Works for East-West Seed since : 1982

    Based in : Global

    Education

    Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

    Doctor of Science in Agricultural Sciences, Honoris Causa

    Other Team Members

    Mary Ann Sayoc

    Mary Ann is the Public Affairs Lead for the East-West Seed Group. In this role, she represents EWS globally in various policy...

    Read More

    Irene Sion

    "I'm a daughter of a farmer, working in East-West Seed is my simple way of helping my fellow farmers."Irene’s journey w...

    Read More

    Ard Groot

    Ard Groot comes from seven generations of seedsmen who formed the foundations of the Dutch seed industry in Enkhuizen, The Ne...

    Read More

    Girlie F. Banaña

    Farmers' productivity the measure of success. As one of the longest-serving team members, since 2000, Girlie is very fam...

    Read More

    Dilip Rajan

    Dilip is the Chief Operating Officer on the East-West Seed Managing Board. He joined East-West Seed as General Manager for In...

    Read More

    Julius Sulit

    “I like working for East-West Seed because its sense of purpose to serve farmers is beyond and above me. I remember one...

    Read More

    Arthur Cabacungan, Jr.

    “East-West Seed has a culture of continual career growth which allows flexibility in showcasing talents that leads to b...

    Read More

    Jay Lopez

    Jay has over 24 years of experience in pharmaceutical, nutritional, and consumer health products within the Philippine and In...

    Read More

    Cathlea Barote

    Cathlea is East-West Seed's Chief People Officer with extensive HR experience, both at country and regional level.As CPO, Lea...

    Read More

    Joost van Elzakker

    Joost is East-West Seed's Chief Commercial Officer ensuring we maintain strong connections with - and development of our prod...

    Read More

    Ruby Samonte

    “East-West Seed brings me closer to the farmers-- understanding their needs and working with them. Hearing their succes...

    Read More

    Katalin Pákozdi

    Katalin is East-West Seed's Chief R&D Officer, leading the company's breeding strategy and direction.Katalin brings the r...

    Read More

    Jean-Christophe “JC” Filippi

    Jean-Christophe “JC” Filippi is the Chief Executive Officer of the East-West Seed Group. Prior to joining Ea...

    Read More

    Alkeen Ingal

    With over 20 years of experience in trade sales and farm operations, Alkeen is a seasoned professional in the agricultural in...

    Read More

    Maaike Groot

    Maaike Groot is a 7th generation member of a family of seedsmen. After building a career in art sales and academic publishing...

    Read More

    Thibaut P. Terlon

    Thibaut is the Chief Financial Officer of East-West Seed. He joined the company in 2024.Thibaut has vast expertise in navigat...

    Read More

    This Could Be You !

    Where passionate teams work together to serve farmers, learn, and innovate

    How ?