Syngenta looks to a shared vision for sustainable agriculture

• Company to engage with stakeholders on building a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture
• Considering the important role modern agricultural technologies and techniques can play
• Listening sessions across the world to inform and support building consensus and identifying focus areas

Today, Syngenta has announced that over the coming three months it will undertake consultation and engagement with stakeholders from around the world in an effort to build a shared vision for the future of sustainable agriculture. Through listening and dialogue, Syngenta is seeking to better understand the role it can play and the commitments needed from all sides to help make a shared vision reality.

Syngenta Chief Sustainability Officer Alexandra Brand said, “We want to work together with stakeholders to build viable, productive and resilient farms, using modern agricultural technologies to safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We will continue to provide farmers and rural communities with solutions to help them to thrive and deliver safe and nutritious food. Agriculture currently uses 70 per cent of the world’s fresh water1 and is a major source of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions2. Our products and solutions help address such challenges and improve outcomes for the environment, particularly soil health and biodiversity.”

Setting out why Syngenta is doing this now, Mrs. Brand said, “It’s time to have a more direct and inclusive conversation to help rebuild the trust between society and science. As a company we need to align our role with the roles of others and work in a way that continues to build society’s confidence in the farming and agricultural innovation sectors. We want to make sure we are able to respond appropriately to the expectations of all our stakeholders so we can move forward constructively and together. Building consensus on how different agriculture systems can help support delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals will be the base on which the listening sessions are built.”

Mrs. Brand went on to say, “Once completed around the end of November 2018, we will be able to establish where we intend to focus our own efforts. Outcomes from the consultations will help form the basis of new commitments for achieving a future vision, together. We will establish how to accelerate the development of products and technologies that can continue to meet the needs of small farmers, large farmers and society, in the future. We will also translate our findings into the next evolution of our successful Good Growth Plan beyond 2020. We expect that by early next year we will announce how we intend to move forward.”

Mrs. Brand said the listening sessions would take different forms including roundtables and one-to-one conversations. “Around the world we will reach out directly to different groups and individuals who, together, represent a cross section of those with a stake in the future of sustainable agriculture.”

CEO Erik Fyrwald talks about the importance of balancing food production and taking care of the planet.

1 https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/water.html
2 http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/05/everything-you-need-know-about-agricultural-emissions