Kenyan enterprises East African Seed and Seed Co. secured the top two positions in the 2019 Access to Seeds Index for Eastern and Southern Africa, building on their regional expansion since the first index publication in 2016, according to research by the Amsterdam-based Access to Seeds Foundation.
East African Seed distinguished itself through its focus on local crops and extensive extension staff network across multiple countries. Seed Co., originally based in Zimbabwe but now headquartered in South Africa, maintains the region's most comprehensive breeding, production, and sales infrastructure.
The index evaluated 22 seed companies, with Thailand’s East-West Seed, U.S.-based Corteva Agriscience, and Swiss firm Syngenta completing the top five. Ugandan firms Victoria Seeds and NASECO also featured in the top 10, reflecting regional farmer-focused operations.
Sanne Helderman, Senior Research Lead at Access to Seeds, noted African companies' regional expertise provides an advantage over multinationals. She highlighted Thailand’s East-West Seed as an outlier for adapting Asian smallholder practices to African contexts.
The report identified gaps in extension services, with no companies in Angola, Namibia, Madagascar, and South Sudan offering training alongside sales. Maize breeding dominated regional efforts, raising concerns about limited crop diversity for smallholders.
While 75% of companies have breeding programs, most crop varieties available were over three years old, prompting questions about climate adaptation. The index aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Netherlands government.
FAO data revealed 821 million undernourished people globally in 2017, with Southern Africa experiencing rising hunger since 2010. Climate variability remains a key challenge for farmers, emphasizing the seed industry's role in adaptation efforts.
The Access to Seeds Index 2019 is a Sustainable Development Goals benchmark launched by the World Benchmarking Alliance in 2018. It follows rankings in South and Southeast Asia and precedes evaluations in Western and Central Africa.
