Syngenta, The Mama Ada Foundation partner to help Kenyan farmers

Syngenta employees in Minnetonka celebrated their ongoing community partnership with The Mama Ada Foundation. The organization, based in Hopkins, Minn., creates entrepreneurship opportunities and provides seed and tuition funds for people living in the Rift Valley Province in Kenya.

Syngenta first announced the partnership with The Mama Ada Foundation earlier this year, responding to a need for funds to provide seeds to local farmers for the 2012 growing season. Syngenta donated $10,000 to the foundation to support local activities in Kenya. That donation, along with additional fundraising efforts by the foundation, has provided farmers with enough seeds for another season.

"The Mama Ada Foundation is instrumental in helping farmers and students in the Rift Valley Province work toward self-sufficiency,” said David Morgan, President, Syngenta Seeds, Inc. and Syngenta Region Director, North America. “Syngenta is committed to sustainable agriculture and improving the quality of life and The Mama Ada Foundation is directly linked to both. Through this partnership, Syngenta is able to play a significant role in meeting the needs of this Kenyan community.”

"Thanks to our partnership with Syngenta more than 100 families in the area now have a better chance at eliminating hunger and reducing poverty,” said Jim Cook, The Mama Ada Foundation Board Chair. “We are grateful for each contribution and because of these efforts the families’ odds of surviving another season have increased. Our friendship with Syngenta helps us enhance the people of the province’s way of life and leads them one more step closer to self-sufficiency. ”

As The Mama Ada Foundation members are planning an upcoming trip to the Rift Valley Province in Kenya, Syngenta employees prepared personal notes to share with community members and signed a banner commemorating the partnership.

"Syngenta strives to project a positive influence within the Minnesota community,” continued Morgan. “Eldoret, Kenya, a Minneapolis sister city is within the Rift Valley Province, and knowing that our efforts directly benefit that community make this friendship with The Mama Ada Foundation even more relevant both here and abroad.” Working together, the two organizations hope to develop a community and relationship, that despite over 8,000 miles between, will enhance the lives of all those in the Rift Valley Province.