Syngenta Annual Review 2010 - CEO Water Mandate

Syngenta
Annual Review 2010
Contributing to food security
12
Strengthening
rural economies
“Only with sustainable intensification of crop
production can serious progress be made
towards achieving the Millennium Development
Goals on hunger and poverty reduction and
on ensuring environmental sustainability.”
Shivaji Pandey
Director, FAO’s Plant Production and Protection Division,
keynote speech at the IVth World Congress on Conservation
Agriculture in New Delhi, 2009
When rural communities can sustainably grow more
from less and profitably sell their crops, they can live
more prosperous lives. But this isn’t easy considering
the challenges they face. Erratic weather, insects,
disease and weeds can ruin crops and diminish
incomes. Farmers must also deal with the risks of
a volatile market – even with a good crop, prices
may be low.
Syngenta recognizes that the world’s farmers need
more tailored, integrated solutions to make agriculture
an economically viable and rewarding way of life.
In developed countries, rural communities have made
great strides in productivity. The journey to achieve
sustainable increases in productivity continues in the
emerging economies, but this is hindered by lack of
access to modern technologies, knowledge sharing,
financing and markets.
Bringing modern technologies to farmers
Often farmers are unable or unwilling to invest in
the technologies they need to increase productivity.
Smallholders face the constant risk that investment
in better seeds and fertilizer will be lost if drought,
flooding or disease destroy their crops and wipe
out the benefits of their purchase.
But as a result of not using the best inputs, yields
remain far below their potential. To overcome this
problem, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable
Agriculture (SFSA) offers creative financial solutions
designed to reduce the risk for farmers investing in
sustainable increases in productivity. For instance,
the Agriculture Index Insurance Initiative launched in
2008 in Kenya aims to develop the potential of microinsurance
for smallholders. The Syngenta-subsidized
Kilimo Salama program – “safe farming” in Kiswahili –
allows smallholders to insure selected farm inputs
at their local retailer and pay half the premium. If
there is insufficient rainfall as reported by automated
weather stations, then farmers are compensated
for their investment.
Syngenta Foundation for
Sustainable Agriculture
The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture
(SFSA) creates value for smallholders in developing
countries. Through collaborations with local partners,
including government institutions, private companies and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), SFSA provides
innovations required for sustainable agriculture and eases
access to markets.
The Foundation currently runs projects in Africa, Asia and
Latin America, and it contributes worldwide to the public
debate on agricultural development.
In 2010, SFSA started its first projects in Indonesia and
Vietnam, which focus on improving farmers’ livelihoods
through extra cash crops. It piloted a project with
smallholders in the Peruvian Andes, partnering with
an NGO and the regional division of McDonald’s. And it
invested in the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund, which buys
carbon credits in developing countries.
As well as piloting new activities, SFSA also places strong
emphasis on successful scale-up. In India, it continued its
rapid expansion of agricultural extension. The aim is to reach
200,000 farmers by 2014, up from some 30,000 at the
start of 2010. In Kenya, SFSA scaled up its weather index
insurance from 200 smallholders in 2009 to about 12,000
in 2010. The creation and rapid uptake of this insurance
have only been possible due to the SFSA’s catalytic lead.
Pictured left: Njeri Muriuki registering a farmer’s drought insurance
through her SFSA-enabled cellular phone.
Find out more
www.syngentafoundation.org