HM.CLAUSE, Enza Zaden, and SeedWorks join Syngenta and BASF in multistakeholder collaboration to improve labor standards in India’s vegetable seeds sector

New partners build on significant progress for multi-year collaboration focused on addressing child labor and minimum wage compliance issues

The Netherlands / United States (January 6, 2025) – Founding partners BASF, Syngenta, and Arisa announced today that HM.CLAUSE, Enza Zaden, and SeedWorks have signed on as partners in the Wage Improvements in Seed Hybrids (WISH) project. Initiated in 2022, WISH focuses on addressing minimum wage compliance issues and child labor issues in India’s vegetable seed sector. The project is co-funded with a grant from the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO).

From the beginning of the project, increasing commitment from various companies within the Indian vegetable seed industry was identified as a key factor for success. Addressing the challenge of labor conditions requires broad stakeholder collaboration, including local officials, farmers, and companies of all types. This shared commitment is critical to improving labor conditions and ensuring minimum wage compliance in one of the world’s most significant vegetable seed markets.

For more information on the WISH partners, please visit:

“When seed companies unite for industry-wide transformation, aligning on, for example, production practices which consider the realities faced by seed, this collaboration, necessary for industry-wide change, can empower seed growers to pay fair wages, improve labor rights and nurture dignity and equity for those working in seed supply chains,” said Sandra Claassen, Director of Arisa.

The WISH project comprises two phases. Phase one, completed in 2023, focused on baseline survey research intended to better understand the status of child labor and minimum wage compliance issues in seed production locations in India where BASF and Syngenta are active, specifically the Karnataka and Maharashtra regions.

Phase two, currently underway, is focused on implementing meaningful changes across multiple focus areas, from awareness raising, training and capacity building, to stakeholder engagement, networking and scaling up best practices, to advocacy on a local and international level. The project’s founding partners have achieved several important milestones in phase two over the past 18 months.

Awareness Raising and Capacity Building

Three implementation NGO partners were identified to drive critical on-the-ground support in India by engaging and training key stakeholder groups. These partners are ASK Training & Learning, Yuva Mitra and SNEHA.

To strengthen connections within India’s seed industry, 150+ meetings and trainings were facilitated for over 1,750 individuals, including seed growers, laborers, labor organizers, transportation drivers and government officials.

Content for the trainings focuses on five core areas of learning and capacity-building:

Minimum wage compliance and working conditions / labor rights
Child and adolescent labor prohibition and regulation
Gender sensitization
Financial and digital literacy
Grievance mechanisms

Stakeholder Engagement and Advocacy

In February 2024, the WISH project team hosted a stakeholder meeting in Hyderabad to unite existing partners and introduce other potential partners to the important work taking place under the project. As a result of that meeting, HM.CLAUSE, Enza Zaden, and SeedWorks confirmed their commitment to join as formal WISH partners. Additionally, several national and international seed companies expressed their support for the project and stated their interest in staying informed about future developments and learnings.

The project team also continues ongoing advocacy with both international and national seed associations to raise awareness about the WISH project. The founding partners have participated in key events, including the International Seed Federation’s (ISF) World Seed Congress and meetings for Plantum, the Dutch seed association. Finally, ECHO Platform was identified as an associated partner to exchange WISH learnings and information and to continue the WISH roadmap from project to completion phase.

Collaboration and Best Practice Sharing

Essential to tackling systemic labor inequality issues is a wider commitment from the seed sector. With the addition of three new seed companies to work alongside BASF and Syngenta, the partners are now sharing best practices, aligning on processes and methodologies, and building a shared roadmap to enable successful implementation of legal minimum wage compliance while addressing child labor issues.