Capstone Seeds

No relevant disclosure was found for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

The company provides limited insight into its position and activities related to genetic resources and intellectual property management. As it is important that seed companies contribute to genetic resources and intellectual property management that supports smallholder agriculture, the company could provide more insights into its activities for others to learn from.

Plant breeding activities in index regions
The company has its own breeding programme in South Africa and has hybrid and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) of global field crops in its product portfolio. The company could improve its performance in the measurement area by disclosing the source of these varieties and by disclosing whether its breeding programme includes the development of traits particularly useful to smallholder farmers in the index region.

Seed production activities in index region
Capstone Seeds has seed production locations in South Africa, Angola, Malawi and Zambia. However, the company has an opportunity to disclose whether it involves local players in its seed production activities.

Social and labour rights in seed production
The company does not disclose a policy committing to prohibit child and forced labour nor does it disclose a commitment to respect the health and safety of workers, either when seed production is carried out by the company itself or through an intermediary. Furthermore, the company does not disclose whether it pays its workers a living wage or requires its intermediaries to do so.

Diverse portfolio
Although the company has four or more varieties for the majority of crops it offers in Namibia, it has only a few varieties for the majority of crops in its portfolio in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. The company could diversify its portfolio through offering more varieties per crop in those index countries.

Quality assurance and after-sales
Capstone Seeds adheres to International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) standards for testing germination and purity. The company can increase disclosure regarding its protocols for monitoring its distribution network, ensuring that seeds are not sold beyond their shelf-life, preventing the distribution of counterfeit seeds and providing after-sales support programmes.

No relevant information was found for the company in the capacity building measurement area.

Beans, dry
Cowpea
Groundnut
Maize
Millets
Sorghum
Soya bean
Sunflower

Green pea

Mustard
Teff

Download the portfolios of all companies in the 2021 index for Eastern and Southern Africa here.