Adventures of a Diva Princess: Villar Sipag farm

It was a good day for a tour. Last November 16, 2018, part of the delegates of the 25^th Asian Seed Congress 2018, went on a field demo tour at the East-West Seed (EWS) at the Villar SIPAG Farm in Bacoor, Cavite. The EWS Demo Field showcases over 100 vegetable varieties to the delegates and media guests which is set-up in a unique ‘Pinoy Fiesta’ format.

Personally greeted by Sen. Cynthia Villar, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, the Asian Seed Congress delegates were warmly welcomed that day. The Senator shared, “We are glad that East-West Seed has chosen this as the venue for the East-West Seed Field Day 2018.”

She also thanked EWS for partnering with Villar SIPAG in the training programs and its generosity in sharing expertise in vegetable farming.

“East-West Seed developed these vegetable varieties with the aim to improve the lives and incomes of smallholder farmers around the world and to help give better nutrition to consumers,” said Mike Dela Paz, Product Manager of East-West Seed.

#1 in South and Southeast Asia

This commitment was recently highlighted in a recognition received by East-West Seed at the Asian Seed Congress 2018. The independent organization Access to Seeds revealed EWS to be number 1 out of 24 companies in in serving smallholder farmers in South and Southeast Asia.

The Access to Seeds Index is measuring and ranking seed companies according to their efforts to improve access to quality seeds of improved varieties to support smallholder farmer productivity.

For over three decades, East-West Seed has served over 18 million smallholder farmers worldwide to increase their productivity and incomes. Part of their efforts have been to provide and breed specific needs of their clients, selling seeds in small packages, and providing training to farmers. It is this business model that proves and supports the goal of the Access to Seed Index which is to bridge the gap between the world’s leading seed companies and the smallholder farmer.

“We are deeply proud of this achievement as it reflects our continued mission to improve the lives of farmers one seed at a time,” said Henk Hermans, EWS General Manager in the Philippines.

“Better Seeds for a Better World”

With the theme, “Better Seeds for a Better World,” the field demo features a wide range of vegetable varieties that produce better yield, thrive in changing conditions, and have traits that are attractive to vegetable consumers.

It also boasts unique varieties including rounded eggplant, butternut pumpkin, purple waxy-sweet corn, and purple yardlong bean.

This event also has an interactive component with East-West Seed’s catalog app CropWiki which was launched last 2017. CropWiki contains detailed information on over 900 of East-West Seed’s vegetable varieties. Filled with physical and genetic crop information, the app can help increase farmers’ income because it provides knowledge needed to make informed decisions in farming.

This November 21 to 23, 2018, East-West Seed will also hold Field Days for the public on in their demo fields in Villar SIPAG Farm and in the University of the Philippines – Los Banos. Participants will get to learn more about urban gardening workshops, cooking demos, learning sessions with farmers, and a career day for students will be held during these field days and will be offered for FREE to everyone.