Sakata Representative in East Africa, Angus Douglas Hamilton
During the Congress of AFSTA 2025 in Kigali, The Sakata Representative in East Africa, Angus Douglas Hamilton, presented that company to audience as follow:
Sakata Seeds is a Global seed company with distribution in more than 170 countries worldwide.
Sakata Seed Corporation, in Japan, is over 115 years old now and we are well known for our contributions to the flower and vegetable seed markets.
In fact, the South African office has been providing seed to the industry for more than 94 years! As a breeding company we invest heavily in research and development through our 18 research stations across five continents.
Sakata is an equal opportunities employer with more than 220 staff in Africa, covering virtually every country, and working closely with regional distributors.
Africa has become a major focus for us, and we are harnessing the highest skills and technology within the business to breed better varieties for this continent. In doing so, we are carrying out seed production, processing, treatment & packing in Africa for Africa.
The process of breeding new varieties of F1 hybrid vegetables is a long and involved one, which involves great patience and skill. Over the last few years, we have seen a great deal of development on this front within Africa and this can only help the farmers and local economies.
Sakata seed is a fully-fledged African seed company, having invested in breeding, seed production, seed cleaning, film coating and seed testing facilities.
In 2024, our African laboratory in Lanseria achieved ISTA accreditation strengthening the services the company can now offer.
We currently have a breeding program specifically for Africa, which is generating new and interesting varieties of vegetables to address the local biological and ecological challenges faced there.
Through collaboration with local universities and NGOs, we have established a network of screening trial sites across the continent; including right here in Kigali through the Agricultural Centre of excellence, together with Fairplanet.
This way we can test our newest material in the “Gemba”. That is to say, on the farms and with the people for which they are targeted.
As regional economies continue developing, so do the demands of local populations for better, more resilient, highly productive varieties of vegetables. Sakata is here to deliver on that front and we can ensure our global partners that we will continue to work with passion leading from the front. This is what we do! (End)