Acsen HyVeg

Stakeholder engagement
Acsen Hyveg engages with stakeholders including the Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA), International Seed Federation (ISF) and the Federation of Seed Industries of India. One of the issues raised in the company’s engagement with these stakeholders is research and development, such as the identification of crop diseases and product development. It also raises issues of intellectual property (IP) management, through the company’s presence on the IP committee of the ISF, and marketing and sales, through conversations on seed regulations. Acsen HyVeg discloses its process for integrating the outcomes of these activities into its access to seeds strategy for smallholder farmers.

Access to company genetic resources
Acsen HyVeg makes its old varieties available to public genebanks without restrictive conditions. The company also contributes germplasm to collaborative projects useful to smallholder farmers, including the Indian Institute of Seed Science’s research into the development of high-yielding double haploid lines of broccoli.

Plant breeding activities in index regions
The company has its own breeding programme in India and is in the process of establishing breeding programmes in both Thailand and Vietnam. In India, its breeding locations span various geographic regions to enable the development of locally required traits. The company also invests in building the capacity of local research staff in India, with breeders regularly attending webinars organised by APSA and the World Vegetable Center.

Local participation in breeding/variety development
The company collects information on crop trait requirements from various sources, including farmers, commission agents, traders, market yards and supermarkets. Its sales team uses this information to design its breeding programme accordingly to fulfil the trait requirements of each geography. Feedback from women farmers also plays a significant role in variety development. For example, in response to reported fruit harvesting difficulties faced by women smallholder farmers, the company developed okra hybrids with fewer hairs on the surface of the fruit.

Breeding programme for specific traits
Acsen HyVeg’s breeding programme includes developing a number of traits that are particularly important for smallholder farmers, such as resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. The company also focuses on incorporating resistance and tolerance to regionally important pests and diseases, such as tobacco leaf curl virus (TLCV), okra enation leaf curl virus (OELCuV) and black rot.

Quality management in seed production in index countries
To ensure quality, the company has an externally certified quality management system (ISO 9001:2005) that covers its entire seed production activities in index countries. In all of its seed production locations, the company has production technicians to ensure that the seeds produced meet quality standards.

Quality assurance and after-sales
Acsen HyVeg adheres to International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) standards in its quality assurance systems. The company’s staff monitor its distribution network and coordinate with distributors to prevent the sale of expired seeds. The company’s packages include a barcode for customers to check the validity of the seeds as well as a toll-free number that farmers can use to provide feedback.

Demonstration and promotion strategies
Acsen HyVeg has demonstration and promotion programmes, including field days, farmers’ meetings and promotional materials, in all of the index countries where it has sales. In its demonstration and promotion strategies, the company includes activities that specifically target women smallholder farmers, such as gourd, okra and hot pepper field demonstrations.

Extension services
The company has extension services in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand that provide smallholder farmers with technical knowledge to raise crops for maximum yield. Before sowing season, the company organises meetings with small groups of farmers to guide them on growing nurseries and transplanting procedures, as well as post-sale guidance for better productivity. The company has reached around 290,000 smallholders in the region for the 2018-2020 index study period.

Access to output markets
The company arranged field visits with Big Basket, a wholesale supermarket, on quality requirements for retail outlets and has successfully connected farmers to stakeholders in the food value chain to sell their produce through various platforms such as Amazon, Big Bazar and Reliance Fresh.

Access to seeds for smallholder farmers and governance and accountability
Acsen HyVeg prioritises research and development, seed production and marketing and sales within its strategy for ensuring access to seeds for smallholder farmers. The company has an opportunity to develop time-bound targets for its access to seeds objectives. Acsen HyVeg’s management committee, including its managing director and chairman, is responsible for implementing its access to seeds strategy. While such oversight is a strong practice, the company could further strengthen accountability by linking the remuneration policy for its management committee to its access to seeds strategy for smallholder farmers.

Conservation of genetic resources
While the company conserves its own genetic material at cold storage facilities in India, it is unclear whether it assists genebanks with the conservation of genetic diversity.

Seed production activities in index region
Acsen HyVeg has seed production in India, providing contracts to 2,875 farmers, both directly and through intermediaries, to produce various crop seeds across the country. The company could extend its seed production to other countries in the region where it is active to strengthen the local seed sector.

Social and labour standards in seed production
Acsen Hyveg has standards in place regarding minimum conditions on child labour, forced labour and health and safety. The company discloses that it monitors for child labour in farmers’ fields during supervision visits and states that it strictly adheres to compliance guidelines for the health and safety of the growers. However, it could disclose more information on how it regularly monitors compliance with these social standards across its production activities. Furthermore, the company does not disclose whether it pays its workers a living wage or requires its intermediaries to do so.

Affordability
Acsen HyVeg promotes the affordability of seeds for smallholder farmers by offering tailored cost models through participation in government subsidy programmes. Additionally, the company offers smallholder farmers the option to purchase large seed packages collectively. The company could expand its affordability programmes by offering microfinance programmes, credits and insurance schemes.

Programmes for next-generation farmers
The company supports emerging groups of next-generation farmers, called “Farmer Producer Organisations,” providing them with planting material, training on best agronomic practices and offering them demonstrations during its field days. Acsen HyVeg however, has an opportunity to track the number of next-generation farmers reached in the region through this initiative.

Information and communications technology (ICT)
The company does not currently have any programmes to advance the use of information and communication technology by smallholder farmers but they are in the process of developing a mobile application to provide this service in the coming year.

Gourd
Okra
Pepper (hot)

Maize
Millets
Rice, paddy

Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Eggplant
Gourd
Green bean
Green pea
Melon
Okra
Onion
Pepper (hot)
Pepper (sweet)
Pumpkin
Squash
Tomato
Watermelon

Mustard

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