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Stay here worldbenchmarkingalliance.orgVietnam National Seed Corporation (Vinaseed) began in 1968 as a state-owned enterprise. In 2015, it became a publicly listed subsidiary of the PAN Group, an agribusiness investment company, which acquired 80% ownership. Vinaseed is a key part of the PAN Group's agricultural segment and has received funding from the International Finance Corporation. Vinaseed is engaged in the research, breeding, production and marketing of field crop and vegetable varieties alongside its subsidiary Southern Seed Company (SSC). Rice constitutes 70% of Vinaseed’s product portfolio, followed by maize (20%) and vegetables (5%).
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Access to Seeds Index
South and Southeast Asia
Vinaseed ranks 16th in the South and Southeast Asia Index. Its parent company, the PAN Group, has board-level commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals and improving varieties of crops. Its breeding programs develop traits that accommodate local tastes and cultural preferences and also increase resistance to significant pests and diseases in the region, all of which enhance the company’s score in Research & Development. The company has some strengths related to Seed Production, specifically in terms of quality management and labor standards, and also has numerous programs that offer vocational training to seed production farmers. The company scores low in Genetic Resources and Intellectual Property because of a lack of activities and/or transparency about such activities. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the company offers capacity building (beyond its extension services to seed producers) to smallholder farmers.
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| Seed type | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | OPV | GM | |||
| Field crops | |||||
| Maize | |||||
| Rice, paddy | |||||
| Vegetables | |||||
| Cucumber | |||||
| Gourd | |||||
| Green bean | |||||
| Lettuce | |||||
| Melon | |||||
| Pepper (hot) | |||||
| Pumpkin | |||||
| Squash | |||||
| Tomato | |||||
| Watermelon | |||||
During the reporting period (2015-17), Vinaseed, in collaboration with the Vietnam Business Challenge Fund and sponsored by the Department for International Development, offered low-income farmers in remote parts of the country vocational trainings in seed production. The company also enhanced its organizational capacity to produce seed and established high-technology villages geared toward increasing farm earnings.
Vinaseed is encouraged to set targets for reaching smallholder farmers with improved seed.
While the company demonstrates strength in developing improved varieties for smallholder farmers, it would benefit from increased activities and/or transparency regarding activities in conservation and the use of genetic resources, intellectual property and marketing and sales.
The company is encouraged to broaden its seed production extension services, such as ICT programs and programs geared toward next-generation and women smallholder farmers, to other areas of capacity building.
Organized by the PAN Group, Vinaseed and its subsidiary SSC formed a corporate social responsibility program for environmental protection called 1 for 1 for the Environment. It is geared toward raising awareness of environmental protection among local farmers, with the aim of contributing to sustainable development. Through the program, farmers collect refuse from their land in exchange for seed and related farming materials.
Vinaseed’s parent company, the PAN Group, cooperates with food companies to build a rice value chain, improving access to output markets.
Access to Seeds Index
South and Southeast Asia