COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA CESENATE SOCIETA' COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA

Name

COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA CESENATE SOCIETA' COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA

Legal name

Cooperativa Agricola Cesenate Società Cooperativa Agricola

Website

https://cacseeds.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

C.A.C. is an Italian agricultural cooperative founded in 1948 that provides contract-based seed multiplication, processing, and ISTA-certified laboratory testing to international seed companies, leveraging a network of over 2,000 member growers across Italy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Seed Multiplication Services

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112), Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Production & Multiplication (Contract Growing, Foundation/Certified Seed) (AFABAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seed Quality Testing & Certification Support (Germination, Purity, Vigor) (AFAOADAK)

Keywords

• Seed multiplication services
• Vegetable seed production
• Agricultural cooperative
• Seed processing conditioning
• Seed quality testing

Headquarters

HQ city

CESENA, Forli'-Cesena

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Seed Multiplication Services: C.A.C. provides contract-based seed multiplication services for vegetable and industrial crops on behalf of major international seed companies. The cooperative multiplies proprietary varieties owned by customers (not C.A.C.'s own varieties), handling field production through associated growers, processing, conditioning, and packaging. Revenue is generated through service fees for these multiplication contracts.
2. Seed Conditioning and Packaging: Processing services including cleaning, deumidification, storage, selection, and packaging of seeds. The cooperative offers seed treatment and coating services as well as automatic packing facilities for ready-to-market seed units.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

C.A.C. provides contract-based seed multiplication services for vegetable and industrial crops on behalf of international seed companies. The cooperative manages field multiplication through 2,000+ associated grower members, processing and conditioning at Europe's largest seed cleaning facility (up to 13 processing lines, 160,000+ quintals annual capacity), ISTA-accredited laboratory testing (15,000+ analyses per year), and packaging of ready-to-market seed units using both conventional and organic production methods.

Product overview

C.A.C. is a cooperative founded in 1948 that operates as a world-leading seed multiplication company offering contract-based services to major global seed companies. The company's core offering consists of seed multiplication services performed by over 2,000 member growers, supported by integrated field management, processing/cleaning facilities, and ISTA-accredited quality testing. The company operates the largest seed cleaning and conditioning facility in Europe with annual capacity exceeding 160,000 quintali. The product portfolio includes 38 hybrid and OP crops (soybean, sunflower, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, onion, basil, beet, cauliflower, and others), supported by the Crop Report System for field tracking. The company publishes Sementi News (monthly) and Culture magazine (biannual, until 2020) for member communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed Multiplication Services Contract-based multiplication of vegetable and industrial seeds produced by 2,000+ member growers using conventional and organic methods, executed under the cooperative's technical supervision at client-owned proprietary varieties. Targeted at international seed companies that need high-quality multiplication in optimal Italian climatic conditions.
• Seed Processing and Cleaning Industrial cleaning, conditioning, selection, and packaging of seeds at C.A.C.'s processing facility, with annual capacity exceeding 160,000 quintali across up to 13 processing lines, 11 vegetable selection plants, 2 industrial pre-cleaning and selection plants, and 9 packaging plants. Includes ready-to-market packaging for client seed companies.
• ISTA-Accredited Quality Control Laboratory Internal laboratory accredited by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) that performs over 15,000 annual analyses and can issue internationally valid seed certificates for purity, germination, vigour, and weight parameters, including for third-party clients.
• Field Management Services Technical assistance and field management services to member growers, including field selection, microclimate analysis, crop programming, harvesting coordination, and machinery provision to ensure production control and quality throughout the seed multiplication cycle.
• Crop Portfolio (38 hybrid and OP crops) Multiplication and processing of 38 hybrid and open-pollinated crops including soybean, sunflower, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, onion, basil, beet, cauliflower, bunching onion, and other vegetable and industrial varieties, using both conventional and organic production methods.
• Crop Report System Web-based platform (cropreport.cacseeds.it) used to track and report on crop status and field conditions for client seed companies and internal production monitoring.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 15,000 analyses performed annually in ISTA-accredited laboratory
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Consorzio SativacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC.A.C. serves as partner in Consorzio Sativa-led P.S.R. (Programma di Sviluppo Rurale) projects, including the Filiera F09 project for the valorization of agricultural productions. C.A.C. participates as supporting partner in innovative agricultural development initiatives.
• European Union (FEASR)coreOthersC.A.C. participates in multiple EU-funded agricultural development projects through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (FEASR), including ECOSEME project focused on agroecological pest management strategies and pollinator protection.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KWS SAAT: German global seed company focused on sugar beet, corn, cereals and vegetables. Operates large European seed production networks comparable in scale and geographic scope to C.A.C.'s activities, and is both a competitor and potential customer for contract seed multiplication.
• Vilmorin & Cie (Limagrain): French seed major with extensive field crop and vegetable seed production activities across Europe. Comparable to C.A.C. as a major European seed producer with internal multiplication capacity that competes for grower relationships and processing volumes in the same geographies.
• Enza Zaden: Major global vegetable seed breeding company headquartered in the Netherlands with proprietary varieties. While it owns the genetics rather than acting purely as a multiplier, Enza Zaden operates significant in-house seed production networks that compete with C.A.C. for the same pool of European contract multiplication capacity.
• Rijk Zwaan: Dutch family-owned vegetable seed breeder and producer with global operations. Comparable to C.A.C. as a competitor for European seed production capacity and a potential customer for contract multiplication services of its proprietary vegetable varieties.

Direct peers

• S&W Seed Company: Global seed multiplication and production company operating in alfalfa, sorghum, sunflower and other field crops. Directly comparable to C.A.C. as a contract seed multiplier working with international seed companies across multiple crop categories.
• Gro Alliance: US-based contract seed production and conditioning company serving major seed brands, with similar business model of contract-based seed multiplication, conditioning and packaging for variety owners. Directly comparable to C.A.C. in service offering and customer profile, though operating in North America.
• Società Italiana Sementi (SIS): One of Italy's largest seed companies with significant in-house and contracted seed multiplication operations across field crops. Directly comparable to C.A.C. in Italian seed production, processing, and distribution of certified seeds to growers.
• Consorzio Sativa: Italian seed consortium that partners with C.A.C. on P.S.R. (rural development programme) projects for cereal valorization. Operates in overlapping Italian seed production and serves a similar grower-member base, making it a directly comparable peer in cooperative-led Italian seed multiplication.

Regional players

• HILD Samen: German seed company with breeding and contract multiplication activities in vegetables and herbs. Comparable to C.A.C. in offering vegetable seed multiplication services, but primarily operating in the German-speaking European market rather than Italy.

Others

• Syngenta: Global agribusiness major with substantial proprietary seed business across field and vegetable crops. Functions as both a competitor (captive production) and a potential customer for C.A.C.'s contract multiplication services, making it a key ecosystem participant in the European seed production value chain.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrz5xE86urRPUIYnpz9Cfvw
• Facebookfacebook.com/cacseeds
• Instagraminstagram.com/cac_seeds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooperativa-agricola-cesenate-societa'-cooperativa-agricola

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA CESENATE SOCIETA' COOPERATIVA AGRICOLA