Mr Coen Everts is the Regional Business Head of West Africa for East-West Seed International Ltd. Weekend Trust caught up with him at the 2024 SeedConnect Conference, in Abuja, where he explained the potentials of the sector in the country and what they have been doing since entering the Nigerian seed space.
East-West Seed is a tropical vegetable seed company dedicated to improving the lives of farmers with better seeds and better farming practices. Soon after World Food Prize winner Dr. Simon Groot established the company in 1982 in the Philippines, he realized that seeds alone were not sufficient to significantly enhance farmers' lives. As a result, we have committed substantial resources for capacity building through our farmer extension services, directing a significant portion of our revenue back into funding these trainings.
East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation, a corporate non-profit foundation with a presence in 11 countries in Africa and Asia, began working in Northern Nigeria in 2018, exemplifying our dedication to capacity training. The Foundation receives a portion of its funding from East-West Seed company, and the remaining funding comes from external partners like the Netherlands Government.
"Innovation is at the heart of what we do. For example, in response to the rising heat in northern Nigeria caused by climate change, we've developed the Platinum tomato variety. This variety is highly heat-tolerant, thriving in temperatures above 40 degrees. It's specifically designed to perform in regions experiencing extreme heat," says Mr Everts.
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