{{Short description|Dutch seed breeder (1934–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = Simon Groot.png | caption = Groot, {{circa|2021}} | alt = Headshot of Simon Groot. He is an elderly white man, wearing smart casual dress, sitting in an armchair in a domestic setting. | birth_name = Simon Nanne Groot | birth_date = {{birth date|1934|10|25|df=y}} | birth_place = Enkhuizen, Netherlands | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|7|6|1934|10|25|df=y}} | death_place = Enkhuizen, Netherlands | known_for = East-West Seed | occupation = Agronomist | alma_mater = Erasmus University Rotterdam | awards = World Food Prize }}
'''Simon Nanne Groot''' (25 October 1934 – 6 July 2025) was a Dutch agronomist whose work focused on producing disease resistant crops and improving seed growth and development. He was the founder of the company '''East-West Seed''' and was the 2019 winner of the World Food Prize.<ref name="WFP" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Eller |first=Donnelle |date=10 June 2019 |title=Founder of a Dutch seed company named 2019 World Food Prize winner |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2019/06/10/east-west-seed-company-founder-simon-groot-wins-2019-world-food-prize/1350796001/ |work=The Des Moines Register |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>
==Early life== Born on 25{{nbsp}}October 1934 into a family of crop seed cultivators in the city of Enkhuizen, Netherlands,<ref>{{cite web|title=Simon Groot celebrates 90th birthday|date=5 November 2024|work=Hortidaily.com|url=https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9675309/simon-groot-celebrates-90th-birthday/|access-date=9 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="Inquirer"/> Groot was a sixth-generation member of the family business, {{ill|Sluis & Groot|nl}}. He received a degree in business economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.<ref name="Inquirer">{{cite news |last=Tayao-Juego |first=Annelle |date=30 June 2019 |title=He is Groot |url=https://business.inquirer.net/273568/he-is-groot |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="Ministry">{{cite news |url=https://edepot.wur.nl/287671 |title=Probeer 'Nederland 1960' te exporteren |trans-title=Try exporting 'Netherlands 1960' |last=van der Lee |first=Hans |date=March 2012 |work=Berichten Buitenland Special |publisher=Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation |language=Dutch |page=4 |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>
==Career== By 1981, Groot's family business was sold, prompting him to develop his own company named East-West Seed with the money made from the family sale.<ref name="Stichting"/> He officially launched the company in 1982 with Benito Domingo, a fellow seed seller located in the Philippines.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=29 April 2021 |title=The Netherlands Knights Filipina Agriculture Advocate |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A660148813/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=8b0fe52b |work=BusinessMirror |access-date=17 November 2022 |via=Gale}}</ref> The focus of the company was to develop and sell improved seed cultivars with an aim toward impoverished regions of the world that could most benefit from more disease-resistant and hardier crops. The company began selling in the Philippines first and Thailand by the late 1980s before expanding into Indonesia in the 1990s and the rest of Southeast Asia.<ref name="WFP"/><ref name="Stichting"/> The sale of seeds to countries in Africa began in the late 2000s, focusing on East Africa. East-West's F1 hybrids were made using local cultivars, including the creation of a popular variety of Thai pepper.<ref name="Stichting">{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=14 June 2019 |title=De zaden van Simon Groot (84) zorgen voor minder honger en meer winst voor miljoenen |trans-title=The seeds of Simon Groot (84) ensure less hunger and more profit for millions |url=https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2289010-de-zaden-van-simon-groot-84-zorgen-voor-minder-honger-en-meer-winst-voor-miljoenen |work=Nederlandse Omroep Stichting |language=Dutch |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>
Groot noted that it was initially difficult to get farmers in the Philippines to commit to using hybrid seeds, with only 20 percent of the farming population in the country committing to the idea by 1992.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sarian |first=Zac B. |date=19 March 2018 |title=Agrikultura |trans-title=Agriculture |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/liwayway/20180319/282020442837807 |work=Liwayway |language=Filipino |access-date=17 November 2022}}</ref> The Access to Seeds Index published in 2016 rated companies which provided seed cultivars to developing countries: East-West Seed came in top for East Africa and for vegetable seeds globally. The company said that their bitter gourd hybrid was one of the most popular seeds sold.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smouter |first=Karel |date=1 March 2016 |title=Een lijst met de wereldwijde toegang tot zaden, schieten we daar iets mee op? |trans-title=A list of worldwide access to seeds, does that help us? |url=https://decorrespondent.nl/4117/een-lijst-met-de-wereldwijde-toegang-tot-zaden-schieten-we-daar-iets-mee-op/774486227658-406f5804 |work=De Correspondent |language=Dutch |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref> By 2019, East-West's hybrid cultivars were being sold in over 60 countries throughout the developing world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Madhvi |first=Sally |date=30 September 2019 |title=Help smallholder farmers thrive economically: Simon Groot |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601169910/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=cf3984df |work=The Economic Times |access-date=11 July 2025 |via=Gale}}</ref>
==Awards and honours== Groot was given the 2015 Mansholt Award for sustainable entrepreneurship for his work with East-West Seed in providing seed cultivars to improve the agriculture of developing countries.<ref>{{cite news |last=van der Scheer |first=Ton |date=25 February 2016 |title=Zaadbedrijven langs maatschappelijke meetlat |trans-title=Seed companies on a social yardstick |url=https://www.gfactueel.nl/zaadbedrijven-langs-maatschappelijke-meetlat/ |url-access=subscription|work=Groenten & Fruit |language=Dutch |access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref> In early 2019, he was given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.<ref name="Inquirer"/> In 2019, he was awarded the World Food Prize for "his transformative role in empowering millions of smallholder farmers in more than 60 countries to earn greater incomes through enhanced vegetable production, benefiting hundreds of millions of consumers with greater access to nutritious vegetables for healthy diets."<ref name="WFP">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/20102019_laureates/2019_groot/ |title=2019: Groot |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 2019 |website=worldfoodprize.org |publisher=World Food Prize |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203133632/https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/20102019_laureates/2019_groot/ |archive-date=3 December 2021|access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref>
==Death== Groot died in Enkhuizen on 6 July 2025, at the age of 90.<ref>{{cite news|title=Groot to be remembered on July 13 for legacy in vegetable farming|date=July 11, 2025|work=The Financial Express|url=https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/groot-to-be-remembered-on-july-13-for-legacy-in-vegetable-farming-1752167921|access-date=July 15, 2025}}</ref><ref name=groentennieuws>{{Cite web |url=https://www.groentennieuws.nl/article/9748176/overlijdensbericht-simon-nanne-groot-1934-2025/ |title=Overlijdensbericht Simon Nanne Groot (1934 - 2025) |date=7 July 2025 |access-date=7 July 2025 |website =Groentennieuws |language=nl}}</ref><ref name="NRC-obit">{{cite news |last1=Kamsma |first1=Martine |title=Zaadveredelaar uit Enkhuizen die een verschil wilde maken door kleine boeren wereldwijd te helpen |url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/07/10/zaadveredelaar-uit-enkhuizen-die-een-verschil-wilde-maken-door-kleine-boeren-wereldwijd-te-helpen-a4899931 |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=NRC |date=10 July 2025 |language=nl-NL}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== * [https://www.eastwestseed.com/about-us/history/#our-founder Our Founder: Dr. Simon N. Groot] at EastWestSeed.com
{{Portal bar|Biography|Biology|Netherlands}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groot, Simon}} Category:1934 births Category:2025 deaths Category:20th-century Dutch agronomists Category:Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Category:People from Enkhuizen