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About East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation

Who We Are

  • EWS-KT is a non-profit corporate foundation with unique ties to East-West Seed Group.
  • Our mission is to improve the production and business skills of smallholder farmers, with the aim of enhancing their livelihoods and increasing the supply of safe-to-eat vegetables while simultaneously catalyzing the development of innovative agricultural-input markets.

What We Do

We leverage a business-minded approach to sustainable development for farmers in less developed areas:

  • We offer practical field demonstrations on home and market-driven production.
  • We guide farmers to establish demonstration plots to showcase innovative techniques for growing vegetables.
  • We provide field-level training and exposure on best practices for profitable and sustainable farming.
  • We develop locally adapted extension materials and share information through digital media platforms.
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How We Work

  • We help develop competitive agricultural-input markets and position vegetable production as an attractive and viable livelihood for local communities.
  • We build partnerships with other organizations that share our core values to promote a sustainable and profitable vegetable production system for low-income and rural communities.
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Our Resources

We have high-quality training materials, on-the-ground teams, and a unique data system. All of our extension materials are available on the EWS-KT digital platform GrowHow, which offers a variety of learning materials, including crop guides available in more than 25 languages.

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Invisible Roots

Watch EWS-KT staff share their unique stories of affecting the lives of people across the world.

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Our Technical Expertise

  • check_24px Vast expertise in vegetable farming techniques
  • check_24px In-depth knowledge of local needs and tools to ensure farmer success
  • check_24px Digital expertise and a data-driven approach
  • check_24px Extensive skills in team management and farmer return on investment
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Our Partners

We co-invest with organizations that share our social impact vision and market-based approaches.

Partners

Board of Trustees and Advisors

Rutger joined EWS-KT in 2017 as Board Chair. Rutger is also a member of East-West Seed Group’s Supervisory Board and a member of the Netherlands-African Business Council. View Bio
Rutger Groot
Board Chair
Joan Boer
Joan has 40 years of experience in development cooperation, including with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
View Bio
Joan Boer
Board Member
Brigit van Dijk van de Reijt
Brigit has over 20 years of experience in development finance and private-sector development. View Bio
Brigit van Dijk van de Reijt
Board Member
Joost has served as a member of East-West Seed Group’s Supervisory Board since 2015 and is also the Chairman of East-West Seed Indonesia’s Supervisory Board.
View Bio
Joost Pekelharing
Board Member
Flip van Koesveld, Board Advisor
A senior Wageningen University & Research expert, Flip is a practical field agronomist and specialist in tropical vegetable production, with a background in farmer extension, agribusiness, and sector development.
View Bio
Flip van Koesveld
Board Advisor

Our team

East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation has dedicated local field teams in each of the locations where we work. We currently employ more than 180 full-time staff.

Stuart Morris
Stuart Morris
Director
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Sylvie Desilles bio photo
Sylvie Desilles
Sustainable Growth and Development Manager
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Hoa Duong Piyaka
Hoa Duong Piyaka
Senior Advisor for Strategic Partnerships
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Elijah Mwashayenyi
Elijah Mwashayenyi
Head of EWS-KT Africa
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Sathiyabama Baskaran
Sathiyabama Baskaran
Regional Head for South Asia | EWS-KT Manager India
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Femke de Jong
Femke de Jong
Program Manager
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Girlie Frando
Farmer Extension Manager | EWS-KT Manager Philippines
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Mar Lar Soe
Mar Lar Soe
EWS-KT Manager Myanmar
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Nonin Chho
Nonin Chho
EWS-KT Manager Cambodia
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Ruth Ardzard
EWS-KT Manager Nigeria
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Joshua Mwanguhya
EWS-KT Manager Uganda
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Giridhar HR from East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation
Giridhar Raghavendran
Senior Human Resources Business Partner
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Epaphras Milambwe
Epaphras Milambwe
EWS-KT Manager Tanzania
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Jemima Aku Djah
Jemima Djah
EWS-KT Manager Ghana
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Edwin S. Saragih
Extension Manager, Yayasan Bina Tani Sejahtera, Indonesia
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Atikur Rahman
Atikur Rahman
EWS-KT Manager Bangladesh
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