We develop technologies to drive the environmental, economic and social sustainability
of agricultural systems, building the long-term sustainability
of our business.
For Syngentas
business to be sustainable, agriculture must also be sustainable.
It is clearly in our interest to promote the use of our products
in a way that ensures long-term use; our products must contribute
to sustainable agriculture systems.
Protecting natural habitats
In the face of
the challenge to double the worlds food supply in the next
25 years, the choice is between increasing productivity from
existing farmland or creating more farmland by deforestation
and destruction of natural habitats and wildlife. By reducing
the need to extend farmlands, intensive agriculture in appropriate
areas is a major contributor to long-term sustainability.
Product development
for sustainability
Right from product
development, Syngenta considers the long term aspects of sustainability,
such as soil conservation, water quality and biodiversity. These
factors, together with safety information, form the basis of
the label directions for all our products.
Syngenta believes careful selection of seeds
and crop protection products can make a positive contribution
to sustainability.
For example, some
herbicides support soil conservation by allowing farmers to
use minimum till methods that reduce soil erosion and promote
water conservation.
Water conservation
According to the
World Bank, one third of the worlds population is now subject
to water scarcity: this will more than double over the next
30 years. Agriculture is a major water user, particularly
in developing countries. Projects such as demonstrating the
value of buffer zones in preserving water quality can help
integrate better practices in common use, making an important
contribution to water sustainability.
Preserving biodiversity
Fundamentally,
Syngenta products contribute to protecting natural and sensitive
habitats from incursion by agriculture by helping growers
increase the productivity of existing farmland.
Preserving genetic biodiversity is the lifeline
to the future of our seeds business. This gives Syngenta the
building blocks needed to breed a diverse and robust range of
crops for the future. We contribute to the protection of broad
diversity in crop species by contributing to seed banks.
Sustainable agriculture
The sustainability of an agricultural
system takes account of its economic, ecological and social
dimensions. This means producing sufficient, affordable,
quality food, while protecting the environment and biodiversity
and ensuring farming is economically viable and contributes
to the well being of local communities and maintaining
the ability to do all of this in the long term.
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Case studies
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Syngenta is supporting
the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT), an international body
supporting the conservation of crop diversity in perpetuity.
GCDT will preserve gene banks and plant biodiversity bases
around the world, providing technical and capacity building
assistance to seed banks, thereby promoting the development
of a rational and efficient system of crop diversity conservation.
The partners are the Food and Agriculture
Organization, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research and the 140 country signatories to the International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
SOWAP project
Syngenta has joined
with the EU Commission and a wide range of academic and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) to form the SOil and WAter Protection
(SOWAP) project. SOWAP will help farmers plan and mitigate
the effect of losing soil to rivers. The future viability
of some of Europes most prestigious vineyards and productive
olive groves is under serious threat from soil erosion, and
excess soil in rivers is damaging aquatic life.
The e4 million
three-year project will monitor test sites and record the rates
of soil loss from arable farming practices, testing a range
of options for farmers to reduce soil erosion under practical
field conditions. It will also assess the economic consequences
of change, enabling policy makers to implement workable legislation.
www.sowap.org
The APCOT project
The Andhra Pradesh
Cotton (APCOT) project is a unique partnership between local
NGOs, the local scientific and development community, the
Indian government and Syngenta, set up in response to the
difficult situation of smallholder cotton farmers caused by
incorrect pesticide use and lack of technical knowledge.
Syngenta is providing innovative crop management
technology, training, funds and implementation support. With
better product and application technologies, farmers have reduced
sprays from as much as 30-40 times per season to just 5-10 sprays,
maintaining and increasing yield.
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Soil
erosion
is exacerbated
by some
farming
practices.
The SOWAP project will help to find solutions to this environmental problem.
Mike Lane
SOWAP Project Director and Syngenta Environmental Scientist |
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