Syngenta has drawn a growth plan for next six years with a commitment to ensure sustainable farming.
With shrinking agriculture land and 200,000 more mouths to feed every day by 2020, the company has committed to improving the average yield of major crops by 20 per cent without using more land, water or inputs.
It intends to rescue 10 million hectares of farmland from the brink of degradation by improving the fertility and enhancing biodiversity on five million hectares of farm land. Akshaya M. Kamath, Managing Director, Syngenta India, said the company would handhold about 20 million small farmers, especially in Asia-Pacific region including India and China to increase productivity by 50 per cent using the latest farming techniques.
Besides that, he said, 20 million farm workers would be trained globally on safety and ensure fair working condition throughout the entire supply chain.
The Pune-headquartered company is creating integrated offers across eight crops, including vegetables, paddy, cereals, sunflower and specialty crops such as grapes, potato, cotton, pulses, soybean, sugar cane and corn.
Assuring quality, Kamath said for every crop protection product that reaches the farmers’ field, almost 100,000 are tested but discarded because they do not meet efficacy or safety standards. “We have invested significantly to develop water-efficient technologies, drought-tolerant seeds, and crop protection products and optimised irrigation systems. We have also introduced herbicides that reduce the need for ploughing and improve soil’s ability to absorb water,” he said.
With shrinking agriculture land and 200,000 more mouths to feed every day by 2020, the company has committed to improving the average yield of major crops by 20 per cent without using more land, water or inputs.
It intends to rescue 10 million hectares of farmland from the brink of degradation by improving the fertility and enhancing biodiversity on five million hectares of farm land. Akshaya M. Kamath, Managing Director, Syngenta India, said the company would handhold about 20 million small farmers, especially in Asia-Pacific region including India and China to increase productivity by 50 per cent using the latest farming techniques.
Besides that, he said, 20 million farm workers would be trained globally on safety and ensure fair working condition throughout the entire supply chain.
The Pune-headquartered company is creating integrated offers across eight crops, including vegetables, paddy, cereals, sunflower and specialty crops such as grapes, potato, cotton, pulses, soybean, sugar cane and corn.
Assuring quality, Kamath said for every crop protection product that reaches the farmers’ field, almost 100,000 are tested but discarded because they do not meet efficacy or safety standards. “We have invested significantly to develop water-efficient technologies, drought-tolerant seeds, and crop protection products and optimised irrigation systems. We have also introduced herbicides that reduce the need for ploughing and improve soil’s ability to absorb water,” he said.
