Vegetable seed specialist has secured a place on Fortune’s 2026 Change the World list for the third time in seven years
Tropical vegetable specialist East-West Seed has been recognised on Fortune’s 2026 Change the World list, an annual ranking of 50 global companies driving positive social and environmental impact through their core business strategies.
Fortune highlighted the company for its commitment to sustainable market development and the work of its independent foundation, East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation (EWS-KT).
”East-West Seed supports the livelihoods of tropical vegetable farmers with its advanced app-based farm management and monitoring system,” Fortune stated.
”The tool lets farmers track activities and record expenditures and returns on each demonstration farm and use the data to promote profitable vegetable production.
”The company trains, develops, and organises smallholder farms as seed growers to generate sustainable income in remote rural communities,” it continued.
”What’s more, its nonprofit East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) Foundation trains farmers in effective vegetable production practices.
”The organisation also aims to increase women’s and young people’s participation in farming,” Fortune concluded.
EWS-KT equips smallholder farmers across 11 tropical countries in Asia and Africa to turn small-scale farms into competitive, profitable agricultural businesses.
Operating at a cost of approximately US$40 per farmer, EWS-KT directly trains nearly 200,000 smallholders annually, having reached over 1mn farmers directly since 2015.
Beyond direct agricultural training, EWS-KT fosters local support networks that sustain farmer growth.
Having previously been recognised on Fortune’s Change the World list in 2020 and 2024, East-West Seed said it is “very honoured” to receive the award once again in 2026 and described it as ”a distinction dedicated above all to the hardworking smallholder farmers who inspire our mission every day”.
