In the face of escalating climate challenges across West Africa and the Sahel, East-West Seed, a global leader in tropical vegetable seed innovation, is leveraging advanced agricultural technology to tap into the region’s $8.8 billion vegetable market.
In West Africa, the vegetables market is projected to be worth $8.81 billion in 2025, with an expected annual growth rate of -0.47 percent (CAGR 2025-2029), leading to $8.64 billion in 2029, according to Statista.
The initiative is targeting farming communities in Northern Ghana, Northern Nigeria, and other parts of the dryland belt where rainfall patterns have become increasingly unpredictable.
East-West Seed is rolling out climate-resilient, hybrid varieties of tomato okra,and amaranth developed for short growing cycles, heat tolerance and disease resistance.
These varieties offer farmers, including a growing number of young entrants into agriculture, the chance to harvest reliably and reduce losses despite challenging conditions. The company has twenty-two R&D centers across nine countries (including one in Benin & and Tanzania), adapting vegetable varieties to local climates, including Africa’s diverse agroecological zones.
Pamela Afokpe, East-West Seed spokesperson based in Benin, stated that, “Vegetables are a fast track to better nutrition, incomes, and climate resilience. When farmers have access to seeds that mature quickly, withstand heat, and resist disease, they can plan with confidence and invest in the future of their farms and families.”
Read also: Role of technology in transforming agriculture in Nigeria
The company, with over 2800 employees, is therefore putting research effort into lesser-known but high-potential crops. In Benin, breeders are advancing Gboma, an African leafy vegetable valued for its resilience and nutritional benefits.
Pumpkin, another nutrient-dense crop with strong tolerance to dry conditions, is being promoted as a viable commercial option in regional markets. In Uganda, Simon Groot, founder of East-West Seed and 2019 World Food Prize winner, dedicated his prize money, more than $250,000 to growing the pumpkin sector in Uganda.
Through its non-profit arm, the East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT), the company works alongside farmers to share practical skills in good agricultural practices, market access, and agribusiness management. Active in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Sudan, EWS-KT reaches thousands of smallholders annually, with more than 50% of its funding coming from external partners to support scaling across Africa.
With over 650 varieties across 80 crops and decades of breeding for tropical conditions, East-West Seed continues to align its work with the growing call for climate-resilient solutions in African agriculture, ensuring that smallholder farmers, young and old, can build sustainable livelihoods from the soil they cultivate.
