Thirty-one seed companies are assessed for the South and South-East Asia index on six measurement areas considered key for increasing access to quality seeds of improved varieties for smallholder farmers in the region. The ranking includes 13 global and 18 regional companies selling vegetable and field crops important for the food and income security of smallholder farmers in the region.
The top ten companies of the 2021 Access to Seeds Index for South and South-East Asia are a mix of five globally active and five regional companies. In 2021, two regional companies joined three global companies in the top five, unlike in 2019, where the top five were only global companies. Only the top 9 ranking companies score above 50%, with the highest score by East-West Seed at 81.9 out of 100. The average company score is 37%, and most companies (14) score below 25%. The low-ranking companies highlight a lack of transparency in disclosure of companies’ activities where they may have good practices to reach smallholder farmers in the region.
East-West Seed tops the 2021 Index, as in the 2019 index, with a solid access to seeds strategy, leading stakeholder engagement practices, research and development programmes across the region and an extensive portfolio of local crops. Advanta ranks second, two positions higher than in 2019, with a transparent access to seeds strategy, efforts to conserve the genetic diversity of crops in the region and investments in seed production in the region. Bayer ranks third, one position lower than in 2019, and shows strong performance in governance and strategy, research and development, marketing and efforts to reach remote areas.
India’s Mahyco Grow jumps from the 19th position in 2019 to the fourth position in 2021 due to improved transparency in showcasing their leading practices in marketing and sales with quality management systems and attention to women smallholder farmers across measurement areas. Acsen HyVeg, based in India, ranks fifth, a position higher than 2019, with good performance across all measurement areas.
Ranking overview
31 companies
Total score out of 100
Governance and strategy out of 10
Genetic resources and intellectual property management out of 15