Syngenta Annual Review 2010 - CEO Water Mandate

Syngenta
Annual Review 2010
3
At a Flowers exhibition in the
young plant production facility
in De Lier, The Netherlands.
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Visiting a retailer of Syngenta
products in the Fujian Province,
China. The retailers are the vital
link between the local Syngenta
teams and the growers.
3. 4.
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This is an integrated approach from which we are
already seeing tangible results. In Brazil, for example,
our new solution for sugar cane growers, PLENE ,
will fundamentally change how this crop is planted,
grown and harvested. With greatly enhanced yield,
lower water usage and better carbon sequestration
PLENE ensures a more productive and sustainable
crop. In addition, through a partnership with industry
association, Unica, we are helping to provide new,
safer and better job opportunities for the workers
who previously toiled in the field in hot and
dangerous conditions.
That partnership was one of many that we forged
during 2010 in order to find novel ways to address
the many challenges of providing food security. Also
in Brazil, we signed a ground-breaking agreement with
Embrapa, the national agricultural research corporation
to share technologies in corn, soybean and cotton
and ensure access to growers both large and small.
In April, we signed a public-private partnership with
the International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center (CIMMYT) to develop and enhance technology
in wheat. In Asia, we strengthened our partnership
with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in
order to develop the potential of rice across the region.
Finally, in November, we announced a 10-year
collaboration with ETH Zurich to fund research into
sustainable agroecosystems. These agreements point
the way to our increasingly crop and grower-focused
approach to our business, as you see reflected in this
year’s report.
On my visits this year around the world to see our
customers I learned more about the increasingly
complex challenges that they face. My discussions
with them, and also with many Syngenta employees,
underpinned my confidence that the Company is
uniquely placed to offer growers differentiated
products and solutions that address their challenges
both today and in the future.
As well as speaking to our customers, I also met
with numerous other stakeholders around the world.
The contribution that Syngenta makes is increasingly
recognized and our standing and reputation continues
to grow. Our collective reputation rests with the
individual actions and conduct of the more than
26,000 employees around the world. Throughout
2010, our revised Code of Conduct was further
embedded in the organization. Compliance with this
code, in addition to all aspects of legal, ethical, societal
and environmental matters is overseen by the
Corporate Responsibility Committee of the Board.
Ensuring the protection of the Company’s economic,
physical and reputational assets, along with oversight
of the strategic direction and financial performance of
the Company comprise the primary focal points of
the Board of Directors. I am indebted to my Board
colleagues for the diligence and enthusiasm with
which they discharged their duties throughout the year.
2010 marked the tenth anniversary of Syngenta.
The Company has achieved a great deal in those
years. As we look into the future, agriculture has never
been more central to the world’s social, political and
economic development. The production of sufficient
affordable, high quality food is not a given and is reliant
upon innovation. The production of this food in a more
sustainable way will require innovation, collaboration
and a new, holistic way of looking at value creation.
I am pleased to say that Syngenta is at the forefront
of these developments and is well placed to be highly
successful for the next 10 years of its life.
Martin Taylor
Chairman