India: Syngenta sets up country’s first R&D facility in Maharashtra State

Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald, Syngenta India Ltd. MD Rafael Del Rio and Chief Sustainability Officer K.C. Ravi at inauguration of R&D facility at Bhimadolu in West Godavari.

Chief Executive Officer of Syngenta AG Erik Fyrwald said the goal of the company is to launch, position and deliver agricultural products to Indian farmers, at the inauguration of the first Innovation and Learning Centre in the country at Bhimadole in West Godavari district.

Digital tools

“In India, we aim to transfer new innovation in the hands of the farmers to enhance productivity in key crops such as rice, vegetables, corn, wheat and cotton,” said Mr. Fyrwald.

Based in Basel, Switzerland, Syngenta is a global company that produces agro-chemicals and seeds. In India, Syngenta has set up its headquarters in Pune. The innovation centre, which is said to have been set up at a cost of ₹ 10 crore, aims to ensure high precision conclusive and reproducible trials of crop protection products and seeds.

“We aim to teach the farmers modern farming techniques with minimal use of pesticides. We also have employed the use of digital tools such as drones to help detect pests in order to prevent any damage to the crops,” he added.

“We chose to set up this centre in Andhra Pradesh because the three major rivers (Godavari, Krishna and Tungabhadra) in the State make it ideal for us to conduct our research and development,” said Rafael Del Rio, Managing Director, Syngenta India Limited.

“The R&D facility will handle a Seed Care Institute, which is a first of its kind in South Asia, with an aim to enhance our relationship with stakeholders such as farmers and Agriculture Department officials and extend customised services to the market,” said Mr. Fyrwald.