Syngenta Foundation for
Sustainable Agriculture
Review 2014-2015
Review 2014-2015
3
Getting more to happen faster
Letter from the Chairman and
Executive Director
2
4
Four ways out of bottlenecks
6
Partnerships for greater yields
8
How seeds could be
17
From the Andes to the Atlantic
and Caribbean
18
Smallholders benefit from new
tools and skills
22
Getting the best out of private
and public
10
Crop innovation to serve African
markets
24
On the way to protecting millions
26
11
Agreeing with the neighbors is
good for farming
How Dry Runs help tackle
drought
27
12
Harvesting benefits from mobile
phones
Sorting out the theory and
practice of scale-up
28
Success grows successors
13
The power of technology in the
service of smallholders
30
“We’re tackling a huge need and
a great opportunity”
14
Farmers‘ hubs bring benefits all
round
32
A career in the service of Mali’s
farmers
15
Developing the value chain of a
region’s starchy staple
34
People
16
A decade on, our India program
moves to Phase III
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Getting more to happen faster
Letter from the Chairman and Executive Director
Michel Demaré
Marco Ferroni
This Review covers an exciting period in the
Foundation’s history. It has been a time of new
experiences, with the first-ever creation of a
company out of one of our projects. It has also
been a time of breakthroughs, for example in
initiatives we support in R&D. We have seen
rapid scale-up, notably in the area of seeds and
weather insurance. Our software platform Farmforce has grown impressively both in content
and international reach. Our Peruvian Qorichacra blueprint for local vegetable supply is now
spreading across Latin America.
There have also been challenges. Our teams in
Mali and Bangladesh at times had to operate under difficult conditions beyond their control; they
have continued to succeed despite conflict and
political turbulence. Establishing a social enterprise has proved to be challenging, but the new
company is beginning to prosper, and we have
learnt a lot for possible future spin-offs. We have
published well-researched regulatory and policy
recommendations, but stakeholders’ discussion
of the options, and actual policy change, take
time. We intend to step up our efforts in this area.
A major theme of this Review is that of adoption:
smallholders’ uptake of technologies, services
and practices that facilitate agricultural intensification, efficient resource use and remunerative links
to markets. Adoption at scale is possible when
farmers see the products and technologies as
relevant (displaying high, risk-weighted returns on
investment), and these are supported by ‘uptake
enablers’ such as training and knowledge services, organization, farm credit, crop insurance and
links to markets. In 2015, with African and Australian partners, we began work on ‘demand-led’
plant breeding and variety design. The purpose is
to shape thinking, practice and decision-making
Michel Demaré
Chairman of the Foundation Board
in public agricultural research, helping breeders
to develop crop varieties with characteristics that
farmers want. We are focusing more than ever on
‘adoptability’, ensuring that our projects and investments progress from the ideas stage to rapid
dissemination and uptake at scale.
Early in 2016, the Board of Directors of Syngenta
announced that it was supporting an all cash offer
received from ChemChina to acquire 100% of the
company. This news ended a period of uncertainty about Syngenta’s future ownership structure, and clarified unequivocally the commitment
to sustainability - and specifically to the Syngenta
Foundation - by Syngenta and its potential new
owners. Syngenta remains Syngenta; the Syngenta Foundation maintains its status and remains
committed to serving smallholders worldwide.
Two factors are decisive in all we do: partnerships and people. In 2014-15, we have begun or
maintained partnerships with public and private
organizations around the world. In some cases,
such as our Tef Improvement Project, we have
renewed collaboration for a decisive next phase.
We also continue to welcome new colleagues
and say farewell to others. John Atkin joined our
Foundation’s Board in 2015; we are extremely
fortunate to be able to draw on his extensive
agricultural and business expertise. In our Indonesian projects, a new generation has taken
the helm, and in West Africa we are recruiting a
successor to Oumar Niangado. It is fitting that
this Review should conclude with a portrait of
Oumar, our longest-serving employee outside
Switzerland.
We hope that you enjoy reading more about our
work, and look forward to hearing your comments.
Marco Ferroni
Executive Director
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
3
Four ways out of bottlenecks
Creating opportunities for smallholders
Feeding our planet’s rapidly growing population sustainably poses a major challenge to
mankind. The Syngenta Foundation improves
smallholders’ access to tools and services
that make their farms more productive and
profitable.
Discussion of how to feed 9-10 billion people in
2050 often focuses on increasing yields. That is
one important aspect of the challenge, but there
are other sides to making food production both
profitable and sustainable.
In most countries with the fastest population
growth, smallholders constitute the backbone of
agriculture. For them, an increase in food production is often not enough on its own. They also
want to generate sufficient and reliable income.
So access to markets is at least as important.
To supply those markets with the necessary crop
quantity and quality, smallholders also need
access to training, inputs and finance. However,
they often face market failures and other bottlenecks in all these areas.
The Syngenta Foundation (SFSA) aims to help
ensure food supply and make small-scale farming a more rewarding profession, in the context
of broader patterns of economic transformation.
To achieve this, SFSA has identified four key
avenues for its future work. These are Seed Systems, Access to Insurance and Finance, Farmer
Support Services and Information Technology.
As this Review shows, all four offer opportunities
for farmers in developing countries.
4
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Smallholders need better Seed Systems because lack of access to the necessary inputs
greatly reduces crop quantity and quality.
Poor harvests limit farmers’ incomes. To break
through this ‘low input – low output’ vicious
circle, SFSA has established novel delivery
systems for seeds. These support both the
introduction of new varieties into underserved
markets, and the local production of quality
seed. Our Seeds2B program facilitates field
trials, variety registration and links between
breeders and local seed producers. Pages 8-9
describe these in more depth.
Buying quality inputs such as seeds requires
considerable up-front investment and the ability
to shoulder risk. Bad weather can easily destroy
a harvest and make the investment worthless.
Insurance can help smallholders reduce their
risks, if it is properly designed to meet their
needs. Since 2009, SFSA has spearheaded
the development of affordable, accessible and
appropriate index-based weather insurance solutions for farmers in East Africa. Among other
advantages, such insurance can act as security
for loans, making it easier for smallholders
to access credit. In 2014, we reached a major
milestone, spinning out our micro-insurance
activities to form an independent social enterprise, ACRE Africa (see p. 24). We are now
working on similar solutions for Asia (page 26).
Partially as a result of their limited production
volumes, smallholders often suffer from weak
links to both input and output markets. On the
input side, use of machines for plowing, sowing
or harvesting is often too expensive. Lack of
storage forces smallholders to sell their products quickly after harvest, when prices may
be low. Many depend on intermediary traders
who provide a service but cream off margins.
To overcome such issues, SFSA is establishing
a variety of Farmer Support Services, including input and output ‘hubs’. Their offer includes
machine rental. Greater mechanization enables
farmers to raise productivity, reduces drudgery, and frees up time for additional off-farm
employment The services also cover training
on agronomy and compliance with the quality
standards required for access to more lucrative
markets. Page 14 provides an example.
Developing countries often lack numerous elements of infrastructure. However, modern communications technology has spread rapidly, and
huge numbers of smallholders now use mobile
phones. This gives them a wide range of new
opportunities, such as easier access to farming
Delivery Channel
Seed Systems
Access to Finance
Farmer Support
Services
Information
Technologies
advice and market information. SFSA is developing several mobile communication products,
both directly for smallholders and to help food
companies buy from them. Further information
is available on pp. 12-13.
All these approaches help unblock bottlenecks
known to hamper smallholder farming. As a
catalyst and incubator of solutions, however,
SFSA always seeks to forestall dependency on
its long-term involvement. Common to all of the
delivery channels described here, and crucial
for their sustainable success, is the involvement
of commercial enterprises. They help deliver
technology, skills and services to farmers.
Companies cannot, however, clear the bottlenecks alone; to gain the necessary momentum
for change, partnerships are essential. Typically,
these bring the public and private sector together
to overcome market failures, de-risk investments
and shape incentives. The Syngenta Foundation
remains committed to creating further PublicPrivate Partnerships to the benefit of smallholder
farmers.
Projects
Farmer benefits
• Introduction of new varieties
• Local seed production
systems
• Breeding neglected crops
• Diversification of production
• Improved yields and quality
• Access to new traits
Improved resilience to adverse
conditions (disease, climate)
• Diversification of income
• Index-based weather
insurance
• Credit and saving systems
• Improved access to finance
and inputs
• Financial security
• Farmer aggregation
• Access to training and
extension
• Mechanization offers
• Offtake agreements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• Pricing information
• Compliance tracking to
quality standards
• Improved agronomy and
utilization of inputs
Sourcing from outgrowers
Access to market information
Agronomy protocols
Production planning
Increased market power
Improved infrastructure
Access to high-value markets
Extension and training
Improved agronomy
Key Syngenta Foundation delivery channels, project thrusts and anticipated smallholder benefits.
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
5
Partnerships for greater
yields
Research and Development benefit farmers worldwide
The Foundation works in a wide range of research projects. Many of these address seed
system bottlenecks affecting smallholders’
staple and cash crops. Most of the initiatives
are Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
Ethiopia: Improving the
yields of a nation’s staple
Tef is Ethiopia’s national cereal. Grown by over
six million smallholders, it contributes to the
daily diet of some 50 million people. However,
the crop has traditionally been neglected by international breeding programs and commercial
research and development (R&D). As a consequence, yields and productivity remain very low.
Since 2006, we have partnered with the University of Bern, Switzerland, and the Ethiopian
Institute of Agricultural Research to change this
situation. Professor Zerihun Tadele (see p. 30)
and his team have bred high-yielding tef varieties which have shorter stems and are thus less
likely to fall over. These new varieties have recently undergone official registration trials, and
are likely to be available to Ethiopian smallholders in the near future.
As an additional approach to raising yields, our
Foundation is now helping study seed coatings
for tef. This could bring several advantages,
as coating makes the otherwise tiny tef seeds
heavier and more uniform. They are then easier
to plant in the current way by hand, but also
become suitable for machine-sowing. Greater
efficiency, including line-planting, would
drastically reduce the amount of seed needed.
Estimates suggest that farmers would require
only four kilos per hectare, one-tenth of the
current rate. Coatings could additionally be
used to protect seeds against soil-borne pests
and diseases.
6
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Brazil/Africa: Revolutionizing
the propagation of cassava
In terms of volume, cassava is Africa’s biggest
crop, with over 130 million tons produced per
year. Cassava grows well even on marginal,
degraded land. Like sugar cane, cassava is a
clonally propagated crop; planting is based on
large pieces of tissue rather than conventional
seeds. Storing and transporting such propagation material is very difficult. Most smallholders
therefore rely on farm-saved root cuttings; over
time these often accumulate bacterial and viral
diseases. Rising disease pressure has reduced
cassava yields markedly, often seriously affecting local food supplies.
To help solve this problem, our Foundation is
working with the Brazilian Agricultural Research
Corporation EMBRAPA and Syngenta. The partnership has developed treatments for cassava
tissue pieces to improve storability and plant
performance, and to reduce the size needed for
planting. These improvements are expected to
increase propagation rates, reduce disease and
facilitate logistics. The treatments will be tested
in East Africa. The aim is to develop sustainable
value chains for good, disease-free cassava
planting material.
Kenya: Increasing farmer
resilience to new threats
Corn is the most important crop in East Africa.
However, in recent years, a devastating viral
disease named Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLND)
has emerged. This has spread rapidly across
the region, causing many farmers to lose entire
harvests. Our Foundation and CIMMYT* have
responded with a range of joint activities. We
first established a screening facility at which
corn breeders can assess their varieties for
disease tolerance. This led to the identification
of promising lines resistant to MLND, which are
now being promoted to smallholders. We are
also supporting the development and delivery
of diagnostic tools: early detection enables
farmers to eliminate diseased plants and avoid
total crop loss. Our partnership has additionally
developed testing protocols to avoid seedborne spread of disease and thus help vital
cross-border trade to function properly.
Another way to reduce losses to MLND is crop
diversification. Soybean could be a promising
alternative to corn, because it is well suited to
East Africa’s growing conditions. So far, however, poorly adapted varieties have kept yields
very low. We are partnering with the Soybean
Innovation Lab (SIL), a university consortium, to
introduce better tropically-adapted varieties. As
well as reducing the threat of MLND, soybean
efficiently fixes nitrogen from the air, thus improving soil fertility. Furthermore, local and global
demand is soaring for soy as animal feed and a
source of oil. The crop is therefore a potentially
attractive income source for smallholders.
Asia: Providing better corn
varieties to drought-prone
communities
ate five initial candidate varieties. These have
been tested in India’s dry belt; across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat they produced between 1.4 and 1.6 tonnes per hectare.
Usual yields achieved by marginal farmers there
are about 0.6 t/ha. These good initial results
have prompted several Indian seed companies
to prepare distribution to farmers; first sales are
expected in 2016.
Worldwide: Addressing
plateauing yields in wheat
Globally, wheat is the most important staple
crop. It provides 20% of daily calories and
protein. Due to population growth and changing
diets, wheat demand is expected to increase by
60% by 2050. To meet this demand, wheat yield
needs to increase annually by at least 1.7%,
according to some estimates. In many developed countries, however, yield has plateaued,
reflecting a lack of investment in wheat breeding. In 2014, this widening gap motivated a
broad group of agricultural research funders to
create the International Wheat Yield Partnership
(IWYP). Our Foundation is a founding member.
In many parts of southern and southeast Asia,
erratic rainfall and receding groundwater have
recently caused corn crops to fail. We are
therefore helping accelerate the development
of affordable drought-tolerant varieties. The Affordable, Accessible, Asian (AAA) Maize Project
is a public-private partnership to deliver varieties suitable for smallholders in environments
liable to drought. The project brings together
CIMMYT, Syngenta and the National Agricultural
Research Systems of Indonesia and Vietnam.
AAA combines elite corn lines from Syngenta
with the drought-tolerant varieties that are a
hallmark of CIMMYT’s global breeding program.
Complementary technologies such as trait and
marker discovery platforms have helped gener-
IWYP is a novel funding and coordination
partnership. It brings together research funders,
international aid agencies, foundations, companies and major wheat research organizations.
Together, this group aims to help raise wheat’s
yield potential by up to 50% over the next 20
years. IWYP supports novel experimental approaches and molecular breeding technologies,
and has already stimulated enormous interest.
The first call for research proposals in 2015
generated over 90 applications. Eight selected
projects will receive a total of $20 million support funding.
* CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center,
www.cimmyt.org
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
7
How seeds could be
Seeds2B gives smallholders access and choice
Smallholders need access to a much wider
selection of seeds. Our Seeds2B program is
now enabling that access across an increasing number of crops and countries.
farmers to use a wide range of affordable seeds
of better-performing, locally adapted varieties.
The crops they grow will contribute both to food
security and farm income.”
In Sub-Saharan Africa, critically important crops
such as sorghum, potatoes, beans and cassava
are grown on more than 29 million hectares, supporting 100 million smallholders. So far, however,
high-quality seeds are only available for about
one-tenth of this area. “Lack of access to these
products severely limits smallholders’ productivity”, comments Ian Barker, the Syngenta Foundation’s Head of Agricultural Partnerships. “Our
Seeds2B program aims to enable millions more
Seeds2B is designed to establish seed systems
in countries that so far have only very limited
markets for these vital inputs. “Partnerships we
kick-started have already multiplied seeds of potatoes and beans to satisfy local demand”, says
Victoria Johnson-Chadwick, our Foundation’s
Program Officer for Seeds and Insurance. “We’ve
helped create profitable seed enterprises and
delivered millions of dollars of additional benefits
to their smallholder customers.”
Grandmother’s potatoes
pay for school
Beatrice Gikunda has spent much of her life
working to improve the lives of others. Widowed
young, she was a representative of the Kenya
National Teachers’ Union for 15 years. She
now helps her home village Mworoga. Nearly
all farmers there grow tea for the Kenya Tea
Development Agency. They also cultivate potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables, but so far
mostly for home use.
Beatrice Gikunda and the Katheri Commercial Village group multiplied a CIP*/KALRO**
variety (Asante) produced and distributed by Kisima Farm in Kenya.
8
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Beatrice also founded and chairs the Katheri
Capacity Builders, 20 women aiming to improve livelihoods through horticulture. Beatrice
multiplies certified Kisima Farm potato seed for
the group. By doing so locally, she helps avoid
frequent transport, thus reducing the cost and
improving farmers’ income. She and her family
also benefit directly. “Thanks to multiplying the
seed, I earn more money. That has allowed me
to grow cabbages for cash as well as food, and
start poultry production. I have also bought a
sheep for milking. But most importantly, I can
pay the school fees for my grandchildren.”
Two ways to link partners
The Syngenta Foundation has developed two
operating models for Seeds2B: ‘Connect’
and ‘Build’.
‘Connect’ identifies the best technology from
public and private breeding sources and makes
it available to smallholders through local seed
companies and distributors. We also facilitate
trade within Africa, South and South-East Asia,
and build links between the continents to find
the best tropically-adapted technology to meet
smallholders’ needs.
Seed helps a mothers’
group thrive
When a self-help group started in Mpakoni,
Kenya, in 2006, Florence Akethi became the
Chairwoman. She and 50 other mothers engage
in community-based activities. As well as health
and childcare issues, these also include animal
purchases. However, lack of capital limited the
group’s ability to maintain activities and accommodate new members. To increase their funds,
the mothers began multiplying certified potato
seed from Kisima Farm during the short rains of
2013. They harvested 53 bags, enough to sell
clean seed to 80 farmers in the area and save
some for multiplication next season. The new
income enabled the women to start a savings
group. “Our success with certified potato seed
has let us reach more community members”,
says Florence. “We plan to buy a bigger amount
from Kisima Farm next time, so we can do even
more in future.”
Seeds2B: crops and
countries
Projects are now running in West Africa, East
Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia. Our
partners at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) are also extending the
‘Connect’ model to two countries in Southern
Africa.
Seeds2B crops currently include corn and
‘AAA maize’ (Kenya, Senegal, Mali, India, Indonesia), potatoes (Kenya, Tanzania, Indonesia), sorghum (Mali), beans (East Africa), tef
(Ethiopia), cassava (Africa), soybean (Africa
and South-East Asia).
The ‘Connect’ model is particularly well suited
to encouraging technology transfer to markets
where the demand is initially unproven, as well
as to niche markets and vegetable seeds. The
focus is therefore on low-volume, high-value
products. Having identified sources of suitable
technology, we assess a wide range of varieties
for selection through trials by farmers. Seeds2B
also helps with the regulatory process and
lowers the risk of market entry for small companies. “Essentially, we are relationship brokers”,
Ian Barker points out. “As the model’s name
suggests, we connect breeders with local seed
companies or distributors.”
Taking the preferred varieties from ‘Connect’,
Seeds2B uses its ‘Build’ model to increase local
capacity for seed production. This approach
is particularly relevant for high-volume, bulky
or perishable seeds, for which local demand
is significant but which are very expensive to
transport long distances. Potato is a major
example. “Seeds2B helps coordinate multiplication and introduction of breeders’ highperforming seeds by local producers”, explains
Victoria Johnson-Chadwick. This involves
activities such as setting up equitable licensing
agreements, assessing varieties with farmers,
and guiding companies on product registration.
“We’ve identified several success factors for
‘Build’”, Victoria continues. “Some are more general ones related to partnerships. But there are
also specific elements such as managing early
risks by securing purchase contracts. In a sometimes difficult business environment, it’s also
essential to stay the course: properly functioning
seed markets need time to get established.”
* CIP: cipotato.org, **KALRO: kalro.org
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
9
Crop innovation to serve
African markets
Shifting variety design to deliver crops that
smallholders want
Markets and consumer preferences should
drive research and development programs
to improve the quality and productivity of food
in developing countries. However, in SubSaharan Africa, the low use of modern crop
varieties by smallholders tells a different
story1. Our Foundation has co-launched a
major initiative to stimulate the use of marketled approaches to new variety design.
Successful uptake of any new innovation depends
on getting the ‘product design’ right for customers. This is especially true for African smallholders,
whose livelihoods are highly dependent on the
seeds they grow. New varieties will only be sought
after when their design combines the production
needs of farmers with the quality expectations of
their customers and markets.
Private seed companies depend on their ability
to supply varieties that serve the demand of their
customers, and therefore have advanced methods
and tools that focus on new variety design and development. With its new initiative, our Foundation
is enabling access to these best practices, combined with those from the public sector, to help
African breeders create varieties that can serve
their smallholders and drive new market creation.
We are collaborating with the Australian International Food Security Research Centre, the Crawford Fund, the University of Queensland, leading
African breeders and postgraduate education
institutions. Our aim is to strengthen demandled plant variety design for emerging markets in
Sub-Saharan Africa and to shift current practices
from being technology-driven to become more
responsive to the market requirements of smallholders and their value chains.
* Walker et al (2014). Measuring
the effectiveness of crop improvement research in SubSaharan Africa. Report of the
standing panel on impact assessment (SPIA), CGIAR independent science and partnership council (ISPC) Secretariat:
Rome, Italy
10
“The initiative has catalyzed the first ever PanAfrican team of specialists in plant breeding
education”, says Professor Eric Danquah, Director
of the West African Centre for Crop Improvement.
“Our goal is to integrate best practices into
state-of-the art training in crop variety design
– by Africans for Africans”. WACCI is a World
Bank-designated Centre of Excellence; Professor Danquah runs the largest PhD Plant breeding
training program in Africa.
Other educational institutions in the partnership include Kenya’s BeCA (Biosciences East &
Central Africa) and the University of Nairobi, together with the Agriculture Centre for Crop Improvement, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South
Africa, and Makerere University and RUFORUM
in Uganda. They are joined by the International
Center for Tropical Agriculture, our Foundation
and commercial breeders. “The private sector is highly motivated to support the innovative content of the training. This will feed into
PhD and MSc programs”, explains our Senior
Scientific Advisor, Vivienne Anthony. Key units
include understanding markets and customer
needs, market drivers and visioning, product
profiling, prioritizing value chain requirements,
development planning and decision-making.
The training will enable breeders to create more
customer-focused, high-performing varieties so
that farmers realize the benefits of using modern technology and can enjoy greater market
success with their crops. Following recent piloting, these new approaches should be available
to more than 100 African breeders by mid-2017.
Best practices, such as systematically analyzing
all the participants’ requirements in a crop value
chain, are now being used in Africa’s national
breeding programs. For example, demand-led
approaches are helping address the needs of
tomato growers and their customers in Ghana.
A particular challenge there is the lack of suitable varieties for domestic tomato processing.
In Rwanda, bean breeders serving growers,
processors and consumers are already championing demand-led approaches.
“It takes many years and considerable resources to develop new varieties”, Augustine Musoni,
Head of Pulses, Oil Crops and Bean breeding
at Rwanda Agriculture Board emphasizes. “A
demand-led approach helps to improve three
main aspects. These are a better understanding of smallholders’ diverse market needs and
future demands, encouragement of partnerships
across the value chain and optimization of variety development planning, decision-making and
eventual utilization.”
Agreeing with the neighbors
is good for farming
Seed harmonization in Africa
Access to better seeds would help African
smallholders increase their yields. One current barrier is the slow registration of new
varieties. Greater regional harmonization of
laws and processes is crucial for better
access, because national markets are mostly
small. Our Foundation continues to work
for policy improvements.
Efficient seed systems are essential to agricultural development and food security. National
and regional policies play a key role here. In
Sub-Saharan Africa, it can take several years
to register new seed varieties in a particular
country. This is often true even when the varieties
are already available in neighboring countries or
fellow member states of common trading areas
such as ECOWAS or EAC (see map).
Greater regional harmonization of seeds policy
would have major benefits. For example: Mutual
recognition of varietal registration and easier
movement of seeds between countries would
significantly reduce costs and delay. Other policy
changes would simplify and increase the transparency of procedures related to import/export
licenses, certificates of origin, and phytosanitary
controls. Taken together, these measures could
greatly stimulate suppliers’ and farmers’ investment in seeds, and in other yield-raising inputs
such as fertilizers.
Pulling together is hard work
Africa’s regional economic communities (REC) are
currently taking steps to harmonize certain aspects
of seed regulation. However, the task is complicated by some countries’ membership of more than
one community. EAC, COMESA and SADC agreed
in 2008 to develop a joint Free Trade Area, but this
remains to come into full effect.
Variety release processes are a critical aspect of
seed regulatory systems. These processes directly
affect the speed at which farmers can use new
varieties. REC are taking a number of different
approaches to improving variety release. They include listing seeds approved in one or more member states, which the others can accept without
Member states of the regional economic communities ECOWAS, COMESA, EAC and SADC. (Orange highlights the overlap
between EAC and SADC; dark red indicates the countries that
are in both COMESA and SADC)
further testing. An alternative method is the creation of regional registration authorities. ECOWAS,
COMESA and SADC have agreed on a common
seed catalogue, an approach also used by the
European Union. ECOWAS is currently putting a
variety release system into practice. Within the
EAC, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have agreed
to accelerate trade in varieties approved in any of
the three countries, by each demanding only one
season of additional local testing. However, this
measure is yet to be consistently applied.
In 2014, the Syngenta Foundation commissioned an assessment of seed harmonization in
ECOWAS, COMESA, EAC and SADC. The study
found considerable differences between them. Full
harmonization is likely to take several more years.
The main bottleneck is that measures agreed at
regional level require changes in national legislation. However, changes on paper are not enough
on their own. REC and member states also need
to strengthen institutions supporting the legal
structures, and, for example, provide corresponding training.
In 2015, together with the New Markets Lab, we
began case studies in Kenya, Zimbabwe and
Ghana. These will assess the pace of national
efforts to implement regional seed measures. In
addition the studies will indicate the impact of
regional harmonization or its absence.
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
11
Harvesting benefits from
mobile phones
Information technology in smallholder agriculture
“It’s not just the high cost of recording activities
this way that is a problem. There is also the challenge of auditing the paper records efficiently.”
These hurdles can mean that buyers exclude
many smallholders. Tools like Farmforce (see
opposite page) use mobile technology to make
sourcing from them easier.
Thanks to better mobile phone networks,
millions of smallholders can benefit from
services that help them farm more efficiently.
Further advances are on the way.
Smallholders can, for example, receive information on their phones about the weather, plant
pests and diseases, as well as market prices.
ICT (Information & Communication Technology) makes it easier for them to share advice or
resources. Pooling by phone enables them to
save money by buying inputs in bulk or coordinating harvest transportation. “Improved information access is just the beginning, however“,
emphasizes Eric Seuret from Syngenta Foundation partner 3S Mobile. “ICT initiatives are also
making the entire agricultural supply chain more
efficient.”
Purchasers and exporters often need to source
produce from large numbers of smallholders.
“That can be an organizational headache”, comments Seuret. Food companies have to guarantee harvest quantity and quality, ensure compliance with safety and sustainability standards,
and also provide full transparency and traceability. “Managing thousands of farmers with paper
and pen quickly becomes unfeasible”, he adds.
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Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
From paper and pen to data-driven decisions
Advances in sensor technology, data collection
and processing, and in Artificial Intelligence
(AI) could soon lead to further breakthroughs in
smallholders’ information access and use. Our
Foundation is exploring several possibilities.
One example is the combination of low-cost
soil sensors and sophisticated yield models
with a scenario-planning app. “This would allow
farmers to simulate on their phones which input
investments generate the best yield and profitability”, Eric Seuret explains.
Another area for exploration is how Machine
Learning could improve disease detection and
diagnosis. “New platforms are making AI applicable to a wider range of problems”, Seuret
comments. “They could help answer farmers’
pressing questions. That would be a great addition to the often overstretched agricultural
extension services in developing countries.”
A further important question is how to provide smallholders with precision farming tools
at low cost. Large commercial farms already
use tractor sensors that, for example, enable
individually dosed application of inputs to each
plant. “Mobile devices and adapted sensors
could provide similar solutions for small farms”,
Seuret believes. “The next few years will bring
lots of new options for smallholders”, he adds.
“It’s essential that we continue to innovate and
empower them with information and services for
more efficient agriculture. The Syngenta Foundation and 35 Mobile are proud to be leaders in
this vital area.” The opposite page provides an
example of such leadership.
The power of technology in
the service of smallholders
Farmforce now benefits users worldwide
Many food companies buy from large groups
of smallholders. Most still record activities with
pen and paper. Increasingly, they need to collect highly detailed information. Our Farmforce
platform offers a solution.
“It is almost impossible to meet modern documentation demands with the old methods”, says
Farmforce Managing Director Miodrag Mitic.
Compliance with food safety regulations, sustainability labels and other standards requires accurate information about smallholders’ planting,
growing and harvesting. That generates huge
amounts of data. “Buyers who can’t manage this
process properly cannot export smallholders’
crops”, adds Mitic. “Everybody loses out.”
With Farmforce, buyers and exporters can efficiently manage data from thousands of small
farms. The cloud-based software system helps
to ensure transparency and traceability. “By
making this easier, we want to encourage companies to buy from smallholders”, emphasizes
Robert Berlin, the Syngenta Foundation’s Head
of Agricultural Services. Access to sophisticated
markets allows farmers to tap into lucrative
sources of income and improve their livelihoods.
“Farmforce can help companies meet safety and
sustainability standards such as GlobalG.A.P”,
Berlin continues. Checklists explain what the
certifiers expect. “Automating the recording of
key information also lowers the cost of achieving
compliance”, Berlin points out.
Farmforce tracks every farm activity, including
planting, applying inputs and harvesting. Local
staff enters the information on mobile devices.
After central synchronization, records from
thousands of fields are available at the click
of a button, making auditing faster and simpler.
“Having complete growing details to hand,
centrally and in real time, dramatically improves
the way organizations can manage their operations”, explains Eric Seuret, whose company
3S Mobile designed the software. Instead of
waiting weeks to find out if farmers correctly followed food safety protocols, users can now see
this immediately. Field officers can then help
farmers take any corrective action required.
“Farmforce also provides a level of traceability
that was previously difficult to achieve”, notes
Robert Berlin. “Every harvest sold to a buyer can
be traced back to the individual farmer and field.
Each input can be listed, along with application
dates and quantities, the storage warehouse and
the shop that sold it. Farmforce offers complete
traceability from input purchase through to
harvest sale.” To ensure accurate data entry, users can read barcodes with a phone camera or
wireless scanner. “So, for example, crops coming off the field can go into crates with barcodes
that are tracked right along the supply chain”,
Berlin adds.
Customers see measurable benefits
As of July 2015, some 40 organizations were
using Farmforce. “They’re spread across 17
countries on three continents”, reports Miodrag
Mitic. “Worldwide, our robust, mature solution has
already brought them measurable benefits.”
For example, Doreo Partners, an investment firm
in Nigeria, uses Farmforce at one of its companies, Babban Gona. Teams there can now
diagnose problems in the field more efficiently
and react faster. Farmforce has also reduced
data time-lags between field operations and head
office from several days to a few hours. Another
customer, Adisagua, has cut the lag by a similar
amount. This smallholder initiative in Guatemala belongs to FairFruit, which is a member of
GlobalG.A.P. All suppliers must therefore adhere
to rules on crop quality, pesticide use and other
aspects of production. Thanks to Farmforce,
Adisagua’s tracing of smallholder produce is now
ten times more precise. The platform has made it
considerably easier to comply with GlobalG.A.P
requirements.
As Farmforce continues to grow, the Syngenta
Foundation is considering various options for
taking the service forward.
For further information, see www.farmforce.com
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
13
Farmers’ hubs bring benefits
all round
Bangladesh model continues to grow
Many smallholders in developing countries
lack modern farming knowledge and cannot access markets. Their productivity and
income remain low as a result. At the same
time, food companies often struggle to find
all the farm produce they need. Syngenta
Foundation Bangladesh’s hub business model
tackles both problems at once.
Farmers’ Hubs, known locally as Krishan
Bazaar, are commercial units that offer a range
of services to local smallholders. Each hub
enables 500 – 1000 farmers to buy agricultural
inputs and sell their crops. The operator also
rents out machinery and post-harvest handling
equipment, as well as providing agricultural
know-how and market information. By charging
fees for these services, the hubs can become
profitable businesses, often run by entrepreneurial young farmers. By the end of 2015, there
were some 15 such Bazaars in operation.
Most of the hubs established in Bangladesh
are close not only to farmers’ fields, but also to
transport infrastructure. However, this alone does
not guarantee good access to formal markets.
Syngenta Foundation Bangladesh (SFB) therefore links each hub to 10-20 buyers. These are
typically medium-sized to large traders, food
processors or export companies.
Hub income trend (2013 - mid-2015)
5000
4615
4500
Cumulative Income in USD
4000
3500
Monthly Income ranged
between 38 to 320 USD
(average 154 USD)
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Jan-Mar Apr-June Jul-Sept
2013
2013
2013
Oct-Dec
2013
Jan-Mar Apr-June Jul-Sept
2014
2014
2014
Oct-Dec
2014
Jan-Mar Apr-June
2015
2015
Timeline
Income can grow fast for the entrepreneurs running a Farmers’ Hub in Bangladesh.
The data on this page come from the four longest-running hubs with1677 farmers.
14
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Hub revenue stream composition (2013 - mid-2015)
9%
9%
37%
45%
Aggregation & Marketing Services
Marketing of Seedlings
Mechanization Services
Packaging & Handling Services
Diversification and meeting customers’ needs are important for
sustainable business success. Farmers above all want access to
good seedlings and machinery.
SFB surveys indicate that in 2014, the Farmers’
Hubs earned an average of USD 1988. Their
smallholder clients made an additional profit of
USD 2.25 per 100kg of produce, and reduced
post-harvest loss by 3-8 percent. Overall, yields
increased by a third and farmers’ income improved by 11 percent. The largest rises in income
were achieved by vegetable growers living near
a hub.
“Our experience suggests that Farmers’ Hubs
can be a successful model for smallholders
and buyers not only in our country, but also
beyond”, says SFB Director Farhad Zamil.
“Organizing farmers this way can greatly facilitate the production and collection of quality
produce from remote areas. It can also improve
compliance with quality standards such as
GlobalG.A.P., or with protocols for niche options
like organic farming.”
By 2018, SFB aims to reach 100,000 smallholders through further hubs. It will establish these
in partnership with private companies and other
suitable organizations.
Developing the value chain of
a region’s starchy staple
Rice production in West Africa
In West Africa, demand for rice continues to
soar. Our Foundation has been helping improve
smallholder harvests and market access there
since 2009. Today, we are involved in a range
of production systems across five countries.
The Syngenta Foundation is committed to integrating smallholders better into rice value chains.
We collaborate closely here with the CGIAR
research organization AfricaRice*. Our work in
West Africa includes improved production protocols and agronomic practices, farmer advice
and training, finance solutions for mechanization,
and models for fair and rewarding partnerships.
As of mid-2015, about 3000 farmers with 4000
hectares of paddy rice were benefiting from our
initiatives in Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire
and Burkina Faso.
Interventions
Partners
Agronomic Advice
Increased Productivity
Farmer Training and
Demonstration
Models and Partners for
Value-Chain Integration
Business Solutions for
Mechanized Services
Outcomes
Improved Product Quality
Farmer
Organizations
Outgrower
Schemes
Better Traceability
Reliable Production
Planning
Other Aggregation
Models
ICT Solutions
Reputational Gains
Surveillance Systems for
Monotoring & Evaluation
Partnership Development
Syngenta Foundation involvement in African rice value chains, a model also available for use
by other organizations
Results so far indicate that with improved protocols and better access to inputs and training,
farmers can obtain up to 50% higher yields. In
many cases, they also achieve price premiums of
up to 20% for better rice quality and compliance
with production standards. Overall, their incomes
can therefore increase by as much as 80%.
However, some smallholders’ yields remain at
around six tonnes per hectare, although they
could theoretically reach ten. We have identified
a number of continuing constraints on production. Bottlenecks include a shortage of equipment for timely field preparation and harvesting.
We have developed business models for providing mechanization services. Pilot versions are
currently running in collaboration with selected
farmer cooperatives in Senegal and Mali. Lack of
storage facilities is another frequent problem. We
have identified potential solutions in the form of
warehouse financing models for farmer cooperatives.
Over the last six years, we have collected considerable experience in West African rice production. We have used the resulting knowledge to
create a package of possible interventions and
solutions for other organizations interested in
working in this area (see Figure). “We want to
facilitate design and implementation of projects
in sustainable and rewarding production, and to
trigger greater investment in African rice value
chains”, comments Head of Agricultural Services
Robert Berlin.
Users can complement the package with other
Foundation interventions, such as Farmforce and
insurance (s. pp. 13 and 24), to create additional
benefits for farmers and other value chain partners. “This approach has already attracted interest from several donors, farmer cooperatives and
private sector organizations interested in profiting
from our experience, know-how and networks”,
says Berlin.
* http://africarice.org/
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
15
A decade on, our India
program moves to Phase III
New enablers help scale up operations
In 2014, Syngenta Foundation India moved
into a new strategic phase. The emphasis is
on achieving impact at scale.
Syngenta Foundation India (SFI) was established
in 2005. Its mission was to enable small and marginal farmers to participate in agricultural development and earn better incomes. SFI aimed to
achieve this by improving smallholders’ access
to improved seeds and other inputs, as well as
increasing their agronomic knowledge.
During Phase I (2005-2009), SFI launched three
projects in disadvantaged regions. It introduced
farmers to high-performing seeds, improved
agronomic practices and new technologies for
control of pests, diseases and weeds. As yields
increased, so did farmers’ trust. In 2009, SFI
embarked on Phase II. This focused on marketled extension, helping smallholders to produce
together and sell together. In particular, the Foundation linked vegetable producers’ groups more
directly with their markets, reducing the number
of middlemen and raising farmers’ profits.
“With a strong foundation laid over the last ten
years, we are now shifting gears rapidly”, says
Baskar Reddy, Executive Director of SFI since
2013. He and his team launched Phase III in 2014,
concentrating on achieving impact at scale. “Our
core task remains unchanged”, Reddy explains.
“We want to create value for farmers, help modernize agriculture and the food system, and be an
intelligent catalyst.” The Foundation’s approach
for Phase III is to develop ‘enablers’ which can be
replicated in different locations.
SFI is introducing these enablers in domains such
as financial solutions, including insurance, as
well as irrigation, agro-processing, seed processing and farm machinery. The Foundation’s tasks
include the sustainable design and delivery of
services for farmers. As part of this, Baskar Reddy
and his team will focus on developing standard
operating procedures for large-scale replication of
successful business models.
16
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Page 26 of this Review describes a 2015 pilot
project in seed insurance. Another new initiative in Phase III is enabling young farmers to
become agri-entrepreneurs (AEs). They provide
crop advice, sell farm inputs and link smallholders to markets. Another important feature of the
AE model is better access to agricultural credit,
provided by the IDBI Bank. Farmers receiving
credit have to spend at least 80 per cent of it
at an AE’s shop. This system ensures good
use of the credit, generates income for the AE
and keeps IDBI in close contact with its rural
customers.
As Baskar Reddy makes clear, SFI faces some
important challenges in its efforts to develop
such enablers. “The first is to shift smallholders’
mindset”, he says. Farmers need to pay for AE
services. However, many of them expect subsidies, which are widespread in Indian agriculture.
Another significant challenge is to persuade
banks to change their credit policy. Reddy and
colleagues are working closely with financial
institutions to explore new options.
Despite these challenges, SFI is making considerable headway. At the end of 2015, there
were 57 AEs providing services to 9500 farmers across six states. The aim is now to scale
up this scheme to include 500 AEs supporting
125,000 farmers by 2018. SFI has also achieved
first successes in the credit area. The Foundation has catalyzed a partnership between IDBI
Bank and the agri-services company EM3. New
irrigation infrastructure has enabled smallholders to grow an additional crop of vegetables on
26 acres. The farmers did not have to make any
initial investment. Instead, they received credit
from IDBI, to be repaid over three years from
their second harvest onwards. Over the next
year, SFI plans to develop about 20 such irrigation projects across India.
From the Andes to the Atlantic
and Caribbean
High-quality production and sustainable development for
smallholders
Sourcing produce in predictable quantity and
quality from numerous smallholders – while
keeping transaction costs low – is a challenge
for buyers. High standards represent an income opportunity for farmers, but deter many
of them from entering lucrative markets.
The Syngenta Foundation and Arcos Dorados,
the McDonald’s franchisee in Latin America, aim
to create new sustainable market opportunities
by linking smallholders and processors. Our joint
initiative is called Qorichacra (“golden field”). The
Foundation provides organizational and technical
support; Arcos Dorados offer a marketing channel
and ensure that produce meets the rigorous quality standards.
Qorichacra helps to facilitate production, control
costs, train growers, maintain a robust supply
chain, integrate new communication technology
and generate promotional information. Experts
identify gaps in the chain, measure added value
and help buyers connect easily with growers. “It’s
a unique value proposition”, says the Foundation’s
Head of Agricultural Services, Robert Berlin. “By
connecting smallholders, distributors, processors,
traders, consumers and society, it improves the
efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain.”
Work started in Cusco, Peru, in 2010 with 14 small
growers aiming to supply the local McDonald’s
outlet. This restaurant caters both to the city’s inhabitants and large numbers of tourists. The pilot
project introduced the growers to a new market,
but faced some considerable challenges. Among
these was the need to adapt local farming practices to the new greenhouse production system.
The project partners achieved this and established
a benchmark for production and logistics management. Qorichacra then expanded within Peru.
In 2015, new initiatives began in Puerto Rico and
Brazil. Arcos Dorados and the Syngenta Foundation are now exploring opportunities in Argentina
and Guatemala.
Extending across Latin America
Today Qorichacra involves a wide range of partners, each with specific expertise and resources.
In Cusco, 80 smallholders work closely with the
Bartolomé de las Casas Centre. This local NGO
also collaborates with government organizations
to ensure technical support and expansion to
other communities.
In Bandeirantes, Brazil, the company EcoAxial
organizes smallholders across 20 municipalities
who grow iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. In Inhumas, Qorichacra works with the company Sun
Food on large-scale cucumber production. Tests
are running to find better varieties, in partnership
with seed producers Rijk Zwaan. Qorichacra is
also setting up a quality management system with
GLOBALG.A.P. and the Citi Foundation. This uses
our Farmforce platform (p. 13) to ensure compliance with standards.
The government of Puerto Rico wants to reduce
the country’s heavy dependence on imports. Qorichacra is partnering with the Department of Agriculture and the University of Puerto Rico to grow
iceberg lettuce under controlled atmospheres,
both in soil and hydroponically. The program will
connect vegetable growers with local processor
Green Pack to supply McDonald’s and its competitors on the island, thus reducing imports and
improving local employment.
In 2015, Qorichacra meetings in Buenos Aires and
São Paolo mobilized officials and companies to
stimulate small rural businesses related to highquality vegetables. The meetings led to further
commitments from GLOBALG.A.P., Rijk Zwaan
and the Citi Foundation to help transfer Qorichacra to other parts of Latin America. “Our joint
ambition is to create a new model for the fresh
vegetable supply chain”, explains Robert Berlin.
“That remains a huge challenge, however, which
we will address step by step.” Our Foundation is
now also seeking to connect interested operators
and processors through a virtual technical support system, helping them to establish inclusive
and scalable supply chains, cost-efficiently and
sustainably.
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
17
Smallholders benefit from
new tools and skills
Advances in Africa and Asia take many forms
Our initiatives in Vietnam, Kenya and Indonesia
vary widely in focus, but all serve the same
purpose: to help smallholders run more profitable farms.
Vietnam: new markets for
safer vegetables
Vietnam today considers food safety as important as food security. Policy makers and consumers pay particular attention to the supply of
safe fresh vegetables. Vietnam has faced a number of problems with the quality of agricultural
production. One issue is that inappropriate farm
practices can leave residues of crop protection
products on the vegetables. In order to reduce
the risk to consumers, the government has issued several new regulations for the food value
chain. It also strongly promotes the national
version of Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.), an
internationally recognized set of guidelines for
farmers. Peri-urban areas form a major focus of
the efforts to improve food safety.
The Syngenta Foundation matches its work in
Vietnam closely to this drive for higher quality. The aim is always both to improve farmers’
production and link them to profitable markets.
Our initiatives supporting small farmers in safe
vegetable production run in suburbs of the capital, Hanoi. As Dao Xuan Cuong, the Syngenta
Foundation Director in Vietnam, says: “We work
closely with the local People’s Committee and
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In 2014 and 2015, we also strengthened
our partnership with other public and private
sector organizations. They include the Vietnam
Academy of Agricultural Science (VAAS) and
food chain companies such as Big Green and
Lien Thao.”
Farmers in the Tienle and Dailan cooperatives receive training on G.A.P.. “Our team puts particular emphasis on modern agronomy and technology, including the safe and effective use of crop
protection products”, explains Cuong. “The aim
18
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
is to ensure that farmers avoid chemical residues
or environmental impurities in their vegetables.”
Thanks to the rise in quality, the produce can be
sold at premium prices in Hanoi supermarkets
and Safe Vegetable shops. In addition, more and
more consumers are now coming to buy directly
at the farm gate. By removing several steps in
the supply chain, this significantly reduces the
final cost of fresh produce to urban families.
In 2014 and 2015 at the Tienle cooperative,
some 1600 growers farming about 31 hectares
received G.A.P. compliance training. Together,
they supplied more than 3000 tons of safe brassica to Hanoi customers. The farmers’ income
increased by around ten percent compared with
2013. The cooperative grows its vegetables in
net houses, and has started mechanized land
preparation. “Combined with hygienic irrigation,
new crop protection products and microorganism fertilizer use, the Tienle approach is now a
popular model for visitors”, Cuong points out. In
the last five years, about 49 groups of farmers
and business representatives from Vietnam and
abroad have come to Tienle to learn. Nguyen
Quoc Cuong, Chairman of the Vietnamese Farmers’ Union, has been among the many visitors
praising the cooperative’s new methods.
Despite these successes in Tienle, the SFSA
team has faced challenges both there and in
extending the project to other cooperatives. The
Tienle management has not yet made the step
up to running the cooperative as a commercial
enterprise in the new form made possible by
2013 legislation. In other areas, many smallholders find the VietGAP quality standards complex
and hard to implement. “They often also consider
the cost of certification too high to be worthwhile”, Cuong adds. In addition, not all cooperatives are yet using the facilities already provided
by the government as part of its agricultural
quality and safety drive. To meet the standards,
these need to be in full operation. “At the Dailan
cooperative, we focus on helping growers to apply new techniques in tomato production. Twenty
hectares are now successfully certified to Viet-
GAP standards”, Cuong reports. In 2014 alone,
the Dailan farmers produced 600 tons of tomato,
over 240 tons of cabbage and 37 of French
beans. They supplied these to Hanoi consumers
through three large trading companies. In 2015,
new customers included nine boarding schools
around the capital. During the main season, pupils there now consume some 1000 kilos per day
of healthy fresh Dailan vegetables.
With a wide spread of crops and customers,
correct record-keeping for traceability can be
difficult. The cooperative is reluctant to pay for
the introduction of Farmforce (p. 13). SFSA has
therefore had to invest considerable effort in
training and supervising farmers in conventional
record-taking. “As we only have a few employees
in Vietnam, we have strengthened our VietGAP
training partnership with the public Center of
Technology Development & Agricultural Extension”, says Cuong. “This partnership also allows
us to expand our activities to other topics such
as better seed. Together with the Center, we
have run a survey of winter crop production and
a trial of soybean varieties.”
Kenya: data and credit
In Kenya, the major change in 2014 was the creation of a new company (p. 24) to take forward our
smallholder insurance. Page 8 describes progress
in Seeds2B. In 2015, our Kenyan team launched
a project encouraging minority language radio
broadcasts for agricultural extension in remote
areas. Preliminary information is available on our
website. The following section concentrates on
progress and prospects for other initiatives.
“Our current and potential clients remain the
millions of smallholders who require services
that support their farming”, says George Osure,
the Foundation’s Regional Director. “We interact
with them both directly and through partners.
In the direct contacts, our three project officers
provide technical advice from planting through to
post-harvest management.” For optimum advice,
the project officers draw both on their own local
knowledge and a wealth of Foundation experience in such extension work.
Osure and his team concentrate on Market-Led
Extension. “MLE involves a wide range of interventions across the spectrum of food chain activities”, the Regional Director explains. “These
include access to new varieties and partnerships with numerous organizations, notably in
the areas of technology and credit.”
Crop demonstrations play a central role in extension. “Our information dissemination is based
on several hundred small demonstration plots”,
Osure continues. “Each farmer host chooses the
crop for testing, typically cabbage, onion, maize,
tomato, potato or various beans.” These demonstrations produce large amounts of data. To help
farmers use these better, Foundation employees
have developed a new system of documentation.
Smallholders can now see a record of their work,
week by week, together with the cost of each
activity. This enables them to plan much more
efficiently than in the past.
Improved data use is, however, just one aspect
of running a small farm as a business. Another
is the ability to take out a loan. “Smallholders
can greatly improve their access to credit if they
team up in a robust organization”, George Osure
knows. He and his colleagues work, for example,
with the Savannah Fresh Horticultural & Marketing Cooperative (SAHFCO). In 2013, this organization brought together 140 farmers. “Individually, they only had small accounts”, says Osure.
“But together they were able to get credit to buy
inputs, benefit from a group discount, and in
2014 repay the loans.” SAHFCO produces seed
in our Seeds2B program. By September 2015, it
had already sold over 1200 50-kilo bags. It now
intends to acquire banking certification and run a
fully-fledged lending service for farmers.
Making it easier for smallholders to access credit
also requires education of established lenders.
Our Kenyan team helps bank managers find new
ways of working with farmers. “Many are familiar
with timing credit repayment to match harvest
income”, comments Osure. “But getting them
to take a different view on loan security can be
a challenge. We help banks to consider special forms of collateral.” Crop insurance is one
alternative to the traditional request for property
deeds. Another is a certificate of good soil quality. Our Foundation puts banks in touch with soil
testing firms, and helps credit managers understand the links between laboratory data and farm
results. “However, bankers also want clients with
firm markets for their produce”, Osure adds. “So
we share data with the credit officers throughout
the growing season and help explain smallholders’ business position.”
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
19
Indonesia: machines and
minitubers
Like their Kenyan colleagues, our employees in
Indonesia are closely involved in the AAA maize
project and Seeds2B program. An additional
focus of their work is improved agricultural
mechanization. Exploratory activities have also
begun in the area of crop insurance (p. 26). The
Indonesian team is now led by Teddy Tambu,
whose predecessor Panut Djojosumarto retired
in 2014.
“Appropriate mechanization can help smallholders work much more efficiently”, says Tambu. “However, many Indonesian farmers do not
have access to the right machines. So we’ve
linked up with the suppliers to bring small
planters, two-wheeled tractors and simple
fertilizer spreaders to previously underserved
areas.” The Syngenta Foundation also organizes training in use of the equipment. Smallholders learn, for example, the skill of conservation
tillage, limiting plowing to a minimum.
Many of the farmers are interested in using
machines to save time and labor costs. “We
have to make it clear to them that yield remains
roughly constant and that on a small plot, the
increase in income isn’t huge”, the Program
Director acknowledges. “But a farmer who gets
about 11.1 million Rupiahs (approx. $815) per
corn harvest using traditional practices can expect to earn about 12.2 million with mechanization and minimum tillage.” Recent trials suggest
that farmers with sloping hillside fields are likely
to benefit most.
Teddy Tambu will be continuing to test how
different machines perform, both in the wet
season and under dryer conditions. “We face
a number of challenges in this area”, he adds.
“One is changing farmers’ mindset, for example
getting them to reduce from full to minimum
tillage.” Another challenge is finding machines
that are suitable for each specific terrain. “The
two-row planter we tried was quite difficult to
switch from one terrain to another”, Tambu
explains. “In the end we decided to develop
the single-row version.” The Foundation and its
partners also invested a lot of time in the search
for precise seed and fertilizer meters to help
farmers plant more efficiently.
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Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
With its Seeds2B initiative, the Syngenta Foundation helps smallholders worldwide improve
their yields. Further information is available on
page 8. In Indonesia, a Seeds2B potato partnership is developing even better than expected.
Indonesian smallholders share a problem with
many others in the developing world: lack of
access to good seeds means that they harvest
much less than they could. “This is particularly
evident in crops like potato”, says Clive Murray, the Syngenta Foundation’s Regional Project
Manager. “Viruses and disease carried over in
seed saved from previous years can seriously
reduce production.”
Yields of the main potato varieties grown in
Indonesia have been decreasing over the past
decade. Some are now about half of those in
Thailand, where farmers have much better access to clean seed. Our Foundation is therefore
working with East West Seeds Indonesia (EWINDO) to develop a certified seed potato scheme.
EWINDO is the national market leader and has
strong production and marketing expertise. We
provide additional know-how, links to further
external experts and initial investment support.
Production of disease-free seed potato is costly
and complex. In 2013, we helped establish a
first greenhouse to produce clean mini-tubers.
“Introducing a new technology, aeroponic seed
production, requires meticulous attention and
intensive monitoring”, notes Teddy Tambu. But
the efforts paid off. In 2014, EWINDO invested
in mass production in West Java. “Together
we set yield targets optimistically”, says Clive
Murray, at 35 tubers per plant. However the
second cycle, harvested in July 2015, achieved
well over 40. “That’s an exceptional result”,
says Hariyadi Setiawan, Potato Project Manager
at EWINDO. “It puts us in a strong position to
produce seed sustainably over the long term.”
The company is now building another facility in
East Java.
The impact of better access to high-quality
seed is likely to be significant. In Indonesia,
potato is typically a smallholder crop. “The
expected 30% increase in yield from using good
seeds should make a substantial improvement
to farmers’ livelihoods”, predicts Murray.
Getting the best out of private
and public
Policy research examines extension and subsidies
Alongside its work with farmers in the field,
our Foundation also studies important aspects of the agricultural environment, and
makes corresponding policy recommendations. Recent topics for examination have
been private extension services and the
optimization of subsidies.
Just like large-scale farmers, smallholders also
need reliable services in order to succeed. One
of these services is ‘extension’, farming advice
and training. Farmers in developing countries
today need more and more information, in order
to keep up with changes in the agricultural sector. As urban incomes rise, many smallholders
are shifting away from cereals to grow highervalue crops for the cities. As production systems become more specialized, farmers require
more extension related to particular contexts
and commodities. In their drive to professionalize, smallholders not only look for good inputs
and advice on their optimum use. They also
want information on prices and markets, postharvest management, quality determinants and
safety standards. All of these demands call for
changes in extension.
Non-state providers play an important role in
meeting this need. Public extension services
are overstretched in many developing countries. NGOs, farmer-based organizations and
private companies can all help to bridge the
gaps. Extension providers in the private sector
include input suppliers and dealers, produce
buyers, rural business hubs and mobile phone
operators. Their primary motivation for offering
extension services is to strengthen their position
in the market. Cost recovery ensures private
programs’ sustainability. Until recently, however,
very little was known about how private extension actually functions internationally.
To explore this topic, we conducted a joint
study with IFPRI* of ten private companies
working with smallholders in seven countries
(Figure 1). The study assessed the relevance,
effectiveness, sustainability and impact of their
extension programs through interviews with
key stakeholders. The discussions highlighted
a number of success factors (Figure 2). On the
farm input side, the most important elements
are purchase and optimum use of quality products. Purchasing ability is strongly related
India
Nigeria
Multi-trex
Cocoa
Integrated Foods
EID-Parry
Sugarcane
Jain Irrigation
Systems Limited
White onion
Marico limited
Oil seeds
Bangladesh
PRAN
Vegetables
Sarveshwar
Basmati Rice
Organic Foods Ltd
Nicaragua
Syngenta
Beans
Vietnam
An Giang Plant Protection Rice
Joint Stock Company
Kenya
Kenya Horticultural
Exporters
Brazil
Rio de Una
Vegetables
Vegetables
Figure 1. Private extension and global lessons: location of our recent case studies
22
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Farmer
Inputs
Production
Outputs
Provision of integrated services
Enhanced use
of quality inputs
Input
market
Product
differentiation
Assured
market
access
Solidarity
building
Inclusive
innovation
Reduction
in price
uncertainty
Demand
driven
Output
market
Capacity
development
Creation of
shared value
Better
research
extension
linkages
Company
Cost
recovery
Figure 2. Key success factors for private extension
to credit access; optimum use requires theoretical knowledge and practical training. Another
element is a strong link between research
and extension; this greatly accelerates farmers’ use of improved crop varieties and other
new technologies. On the output side, assured
market access and a price guarantee have clear
benefits for farmers, as long as the price is fair.
Reliable quality and quantity of produce put the
purchaser in a strong position. This is particularly true in the organic market.
Another area of Syngenta Foundation policy
research is related to input subsidies. In 2014
we began a study entitled “Supporting Indian
farms the smart way: rationalizing subsidies
and investment regimes for faster, inclusive and
sustainable growth”. This study (produced by
researchers at ICRIER**) examines the effectiveness of subsidizing agricultural inputs as
diverse as fertilizer, credit, electricity, irrigation
and insurance. It assesses other countries’ subsidy reforms and how their experiences might
be relevant for India. The section on fertilizers
suggests that subsidy policy should incentivize
their more judicious use. Options include moving towards cash transfers rather than keeping
nitrogen prices artificially low. Payouts would
be linked to documented improvements in soil
health. The study also recommends greater
investment in the fertilizer sector. India should
both increase the efficiency of its own factories and invest in production in the Gulf states,
where the gas required is usually cheaper.
* www.ifpri.org
**www.icrier.org
Success in agriculture requires a broad view
A major success factor for most private extension operations is the provision of ‘integrated
services’. These packages cover smallholders’
full business cycle, from credit and inputs
through advice on good agricultural practices
to market connections. Creation of shared
value is another key factor for successful collaboration between companies and farmers.
Interactions between the two involve a number
of variables such as trust building, capacity
development, and demand-driven innovation.
These are critical factors for ensuring the
sustainability of service delivery. These and
other findings of our study are summarized
in a recently published book#.
#
Knowledge Driven Development: Private Extension and Global Lessons, eds. Zhou & Babu,
Academic Press 2015, ISBN 9780128022313
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
23
On the way to protecting
millions
Foundation starts a company and explores a new continent
lighted that ACRE is now active as an insurance
surveyor in Kenya and is extending its services
to other East African countries.” The new
company is one of the region’s few sources of
smallholder insurance expertise.
Before the creation of ACRE, the Syngenta
Foundation had already investigated the immediate benefits of the Kilimo Salama project. After
two years providing agricultural index insurance
in Kenya, we surveyed 455 farmers with cover
and 181 without. We found that insured farmers
invested 16 per cent more in their farms than
their uninsured counterparts. Between 2010
and 2011, insured smallholders increased their
investments by ten per cent, compared to only
four per cent among the uninsured.
In 2014-2015, the Foundation took major
steps forward with smallholder insurance. In
Kenya and Rwanda, it converted a project into
a spin-off company, ACRE Africa. In Asia, our
involvement in agricultural risk management
is just beginning. Across the two continents,
millions of farmers could benefit.
Protecting smallholders
becomes a business
In June 2014, our Kilimo Salama agricultural
insurance project became ACRE Africa. This
is the first time that the Syngenta Foundation
has turned a project into a spin-off company.
The new company is a social enterprise committed to developing further insurance products
and facilitating their dissemination. ACRE works
through local insurance and agricultural value
chains to reduce the burden of climate risks for
farmers (www.acreafrica.com).
“We had shown since 2009 that affordable
insurance for smallholders is not only possible,
but also popular, and that it helps farmers invest
more in their crops”, says the Foundation’s
Executive Director, Marco Ferroni. “We are de-
24
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
In 2015, some 400,000 farmers chose to protect
themselves with products developed by ACRE
Africa. Insurers used these products to cover
weather and other risks for a range of crops,
as well as for dairy cows. Mobile technology
and organizations such as NGOs and buyers of
smallholder produce helped make the insurance
available quickly to large groups of farmers.
“As well as giving smallholders confidence to
buy good seeds and fertilizer, the cover can
serve as collateral for credit”, Marco Ferroni
points out. “Insurance therefore also provides
access to agricultural loans for additional
investment.”
Ferroni chairs ACRE’s Board, which includes
representatives of the impact investors partnering with the Syngenta Foundation to create
the social enterprise. “ACRE is very fortunate
in having secured investments by the Lundin
Foundation, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and LGT Venture Philanthropy”, notes
ACRE Board Member and interim CEO in 2015,
Olga Speckhardt of the Syngenta Foundation.
“Their financial involvement and advice greatly
help ACRE and its insurance providers to
extend protection to potentially millions of currently unserved farmers.”
“Our goal is high. But we
can all help reach it.”
Rahab Kariuki is ACRE Africa’s Principal Officer and Head of Sales & Marketing. We asked
her about the company’s start into business.
projects often focus on rapid impact for farmers, even when the interventions may not make
long-term business sense. As a company, we
have to focus on both: creating solutions with
impact along the agricultural value chain, and
remaining commercially sustainable so we can
scale up further.
Social enterprises often struggle to make a
profit. Why will ACRE be a success?
We analyzed our offer and market position to
assess the potential to meet clients’ demands.
Farmers and agribusinesses really want to buy
solutions, not just ‘products’. To reach profitability, we need to continue developing and
delivering the right ones efficiently. We’re focusing on innovative, cost-effective distribution to
farmers, for example via mobile communications.
What is ACRE’s long-term goal?
We want to create climate risk management
solutions that are available to every smallholder
across Africa. Our goal is to reach eight million
farmers in the next five years, helping them to
further unlock their agricultural potential.
Why did you transform into a company instead of remaining a development project?
Competing in a commercial market allows us to
aim higher. Classic grant-funded development
What do other people say?
What is it like to work alongside ACRE
Africa? Here are comments from different
perspectives in three countries:
David Hylden, Tanzania
(Country Director, One Acre Fund): “We’ve partnered with ACRE since 2013 to improve weather
risk mitigation for our lending to smallholders.
The insurance cover has enabled us to offer
lending services to more farmers; we now serve
over 9000 smallholders in Tanzania.”
What were the key lessons from the first year
of operations?
We had to think like a business about how we
manage staff and resources. As a team, we also
had to look inward to define ‘why we are here,’
‘what we want to accomplish,’ and ‘what is our
real contribution to farmers and agricultural
markets’. The whole team has to understand
and buy into ACRE’s ambitious goal. Everybody
needs to know that they play a critical part in
achieving it.
Raphael Rurangwa, Rwanda
(Director-General of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture): “Insurance for smallholder agriculture
is vital. Rwanda’s agricultural transformation for
smallholders is now taking shape; ACRE has
been an important partner in this work with over
100,000 farmers insured across the country.”
Joseph from Embu, Kenya
(Smallholder using corn Replanting Guarantee)
“If yield is high, you can buy everything for next
year. If not, you may struggle to make ends meet.
The seeds germinated, but the rains stopped
soon after. So I received a pay-out. I was very
happy to receive the money.”
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
25
How Dry Runs help tackle
drought
Foundation extends smallholder insurance to Asia
Our Foundation is building on experience from
Africa to bring innovative risk management
to Asia. In 2015, the Agriculture Insurance
Solutions Team ran a pilot in India. It is also
investigating needs in three other countries.
“New countries mean new risk profiles and client
demands”, explains Olga Speckhardt, Head of
Global Insurance Solutions. “So we look carefully
what local farmers really need.” This is particularly important in Myanmar, where the Foundation
has no operational experience. We already have
teams in India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, but
insurance is a new field of activity for them.
“In each country we start with a feasibility study”,
adds Speckhardt. “This assesses the local viability of insurance as a risk management tool. We
discuss with a wide range of stakeholders how
we can support its adoption.” The stakeholders
include farmers, cooperatives, officials, meteorologists, input suppliers, insurance companies,
NGOs, banks and mobile phone providers. “We
also look how we can best distribute new insurance products to smallholders, for example in
cooperation with the local private sector.”
The next stage is a Dry Run. In Myanmar, for
example, we partnered with the NGO Proximity Designs to track 35 rice and sesame farmers
from land preparation to harvest. Extension
officers visited the smallholders weekly. They
recorded farm activities, input use, plant development and any risks to the crop. “With these
26
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
data, we can ensure that new insurance products
are right for the farmers”, says Clive Murray, the
Foundation’s Regional Project Manager. “That
means covering their major risks and ensuring
that any pay-outs come at relevant times.”
To address drought risks, Syngenta Foundation
India launched a Replanting Guarantee for corn
seed. 700 smallholders participated in the pilot
project. The insurance product was similar to one
offered in Kenya. The Indian model protected corn
farmers for the first 21 days after planting. Farmers who suffered drought in this period received
the value of the seed via mobile money transfer.
The Foundation will build on this pilot in 2016.
As Clive Murray emphasizes: “Strong private
sector links are critical to reach large numbers
of smallholders with scalable solutions. We are
actively developing partnerships with produce
buyers and farmers’ cooperatives, many of which
have worked with us before in India and Indonesia.”
A new member has recently joined the insurance
team to manage its Indonesian operations. The
team is now developing insurance indexes specific to agro-climatic zones in Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh. A pilot project with 2000
farmers and local partner Vasham is underway in
southern Sumatra, Indonesia; a monsoon season
test is planned to start in Myanmar in May 2016.
In Bangladesh the team will launch Dry Runs with
farmers’ hubs (p. 14) in the first half of the year.
Sorting out the theory and
practice of scale-up
Presentations and papers, 2014-15
The Syngenta Foundation continues to engage
in public debate about the most conducive
environment for small-scale farming. A major
recent focus has been on smallholders’ adoption of new technology.
The use of improved technologies makes a crucial
contribution to agricultural growth. In developing countries, however, the uptake of innovations
often remains limited. There is much debate about
why this is so. Our Foundation, like some other
development organizations, continues to explore
this issue in depth.
Routes to faster and more widespread technology adoption are a recurring theme in presentations by our Executive Director, Marco Ferroni.
In 2014 and 2015, for example, he spoke at the
Assises de l’agriculture in Morocco about challenges and opportunities in empowering smallholders to be entrepreneurs. Ferroni stressed
the importance of viewing farming as a business
rather than a developmental activity, and highlighted services such as Farmforce (p. 13) that
have potential for scale-up to mass use.
Later in 2014, Ferroni addressed the World Agritech Investment Summit in London. Focusing
on smallholders’ adoption of innovations, he
emphasized the importance of public-private
partnerships and ‘enablers’, the factors that
make change easier. Partnerships are often the
best way to strengthen value chains, create
synergy in agricultural R&D and overcome market and institutional failure. At McGill University,
Montreal, Ferroni lectured on “change management in agriculture to achieve smallholder
impact at scale”. Successful scale-up, he
noted, is exemplified by hybrid corn in the USA
in the 1940s and Bt cotton in India this century.
A graph of their diffusion over time represents
an ‘S’-curve: slow initial growth changes to very
rapid uptake. Growth then tails off again as the
market becomes saturated.
In December 2014, the Foundation hosted its
own symposium on scaling up smallholders’
adoption of technology. This Basel event aimed
to promote practical, strategic, evidence-based
thinking. Around 50 experts reviewed forces and
mechanisms that drive adoption or fail to do
so. Discussions looked closely at the uptake of
certified seed, but also examined a wide range
of other agricultural technologies. The presentations and report are accessible via our website*.
The Foundation continues to explore scaling
models, both operationally and intellectually.
Large-scale access to bean seed, in particular,
was the subject of our joint event with CIAT** at
the 2015 Borlaug Dialogue in Iowa. Ian Barker,
Marco Ferroni and Board member Margaret
Catley-Carlson spoke on behalf of the Foundation. “Partnerships for impact at scale” were
the topic of Marco Ferroni’s speech at the 2015
Crawford Fund Conference in Canberra. Also in
Australia, Vivienne Anthony lectured on demand-driven breeding (see p. 10) at the inaugural Tropical Agriculture Conference. In Frankfurt,
Germany, Ferroni discussed financial solutions
as an enabler of scale-up.
Recent publications by Foundation staff include
the book featured on page 23. In addition,
Marco Ferroni and Yuan Zhou wrote on “Crop
Yields and the Prospect for Food Security” for
the November 2015 Emerging Markets Forum
in Tokyo. Zhou also co-authored a 2016 paper
on food demand and supply projections in West
Africa and their implications for investments and
policy.
* w
ww.syngentafoundation.org/index.cfm?pageid=364&newsid=348.
Further papers and presentations are available on
www.syngentafoundation.org/index.cfm?pageID=129.
** International Center for Tropical Agriculture, www.ciat.cgiar.org
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
27
Success grows successors
Three smallholder families and the United Nations
2014 was the International Year of Family
Farming. To help mark it, we ran a series of
portraits on our website*. Here is a first introduction.
The young don’t want to farm if they don’t see
a future in it. But (simple math again) the world
needs more and more to eat, so farming must
have a future. The question is: what kind?
Why, we asked at the start of our series, did the
United Nations need a ‘Year of Family Farming’?
Part of the answer, in our eyes, is that worldwide,
smallholder family farming usually gets far less
attention than it deserves.
We believe that family farming can (and should!)
be a profitable profession. We believe that
smallholders can increase their yields and earn
good incomes. But that requires a lot of changes.
Smallholders need more training, tools and
technology. They need better access to credit,
markets and the fruits of agricultural research.
New ways to shift business risk from their small
shoulders. Organization into larger groups that
give them more influence. Governments that
ensure peace, wise legislation and proper infrastructure. And much more besides.
One way to look at this is through simple math.
Almost anywhere you live, most of your food
comes from farms run by families. The bigger
ones have non-family staff, but worldwide millions of them depend largely on family members
for labor as well as leadership. As well as growing
food, those families are stewards of the land.
Traditionally, that has been true generation after
generation. But nowadays, farmers everywhere
share a new worry: lack of a successor. That’s
as true in Japan or Scotland as it is in Kenya or
Peru. “Our children don’t want to farm” is an international cry that hurts – especially when one’s
family has been on that land for decades.
28
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
Our Foundation doesn’t have all the answers, of
course. But together with our partners we aim to
give family farming more of a future. And not just
for the next generation of successors.
Our series featured a number of farming families
from countries in which we work. They face many
different challenges. Fortunately, there is also a
wide range of possible solutions, a few of which
we discussed in the portraits. Here are some of
the people you can meet on our website.
A family that no longer Teaming up opens
fears failure
restaurant doors
The sweeter side of
bitter gourd
How insurance helps change
farming
How better cooperation lifts
mountain incomes
How seedlings turn an employee
into an employer
Reuben Biwott and his large family
farm in western Kenya. They grow
seed corn for sale and beans for family consumption. A few years ago,
however, they were in trouble. “We
had so many farm expenses that my
income did not cover them”, Reuben
remembers.
Felix Quispe Arqque and Sonia
Arqque Usca (large photo opposite)
farm in the Peruvian Andes. 3500m
above sea-level, their main crops are
greenhouse vegetables.
Pitambar Thakur lives in a small village in eastern India. He used to be a
day-laborer earning 2000 rupees per
month (currently about $32). Seeing
the success of other villagers supported by Syngenta Foundation India
(SFI), he decided to try farming. In
2011, SFI and local NGO partners
helped Pitambar to purchase good
quality seeds for bitter gourd and
cowpea, provided technical know-how
and connected him to markets. He
made a net profit of Rs 35,000 from
0.65 leased acres (0.26 ha). This motivated Pitambar to lease more land,
and in 2012 he cultivated vegetables
on 1.5 acres, netting Rs 90,000.
The Biwotts signed up for our Foundation’s former Kilimo Salama program. “Having that insurance gave us
back confidence in our growing”, his
wife Rose smiles. As Reuben points
out, this was not about compensation. “We have not asked for pay-outs.
But we know that that protection is
there if we need it. The Kilimo Salama
people also helped us to plant better
with weather information. Because
we have confidence, we also try new
techniques.”
Until recently, insurance – for anything
– was simply not part of the Biwotts’
life. Its advent has brought major
changes. “Now we do not fear failure”,
declares Reuben. “Now we can see
farming as a business, not just for
subsistence.”
As our report on page 24 describes,
Kilimo Salama was so successful
that it recently became a company in
its own right: the insurance advisers
ACRE Africa.
Felix wanted to change the lack of
organization among his community’s
growers. He says he took a risk in
bringing them together and explaining
that a new type of collaboration could
bring benefits. Felix recalls: “It was
difficult for us to get together. Initially
there were only five partners, and that
was too few to join the Qorichacra
project. We needed at least eleven.”
Felix persisted and succeeded.
In Qorichacra, our Foundation
provides technical assistance for
vegetable production and greenhouse
operation. We also support the collective effort to make an integrated offer
and communicate better with bigger
customers.
“We live near the city of Cusco. We
can sell vegetables, we have good
soil, irrigation and agricultural practices. We knew we could get [restaurants and companies there] to take
our products”, says Felix.
He was absolutely right. Further information on the Qorichacra project is
available on page 17.
You can get to know these and
further families in more detail
on: www.syngentafoundation.
org/index.cfm?pageid=371&
newsid=332
In 2013, SFI helped him set up a
‘polyhouse’ to raise healthy seedlings.
“I now produce 60,000 seedlings a
year, of which I need less than half
myself”, he says. “By selling the rest,
I’ve been able to buy an acre of my
own land, to add to the two I now
lease.”
Pitambar grows a large range of
vegetables. He has taken on a laborer
for Rs 3000 per month, and hires
others when the workload demands.
Thanks partly to SFI and its partners,
Pitambar has made the journey from
employee to employer.
Page 16 explains more about our
strategy and activities in India.
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
29
“We’re tackling a huge need
and a great opportunity”
Improving the orphan that feeds Ethiopia
You work at the University of Bern in Switzerland, supported by our Foundation. How did this
‘Swiss connection’ come about?
The connection actually pre-dates the Tef Improvement Project (see box). I did some research
in Basel in 1996-97, and completed my PhD in
Botany there in 2002. I then moved to Bern as
a Post-Doc. In the Swiss capital, one thing led
to another, and I got the chance to work on tef
again. When I approached the Syngenta Foundation, people there immediately understood the
problems preventing Ethiopian smallholders from
getting better yields, and were very supportive.
What are the problems that keep tef yield low?
Dr. Zerihun Tadele leads our Tef Improvement
Project. He and his international team made
major progress in 2014-2015. We asked him
about the background to this work.
Syngenta Foundation: What brought you into
tef research?
Zerihun Tadele: Tef is the national cereal of my
home country Ethiopia. So it naturally formed a
part of my plant science studies there. My first
posts devoted to the topic were as a researcher
in the late 1980’s and then as a National Tef
Research Coordinator in the mid-1990’s.
30
The main one directly related to the plant is
‘lodging’. Tef traditionally has long weak stalks,
and therefore falls over easily in the wind. Ethiopia is a windy country, so a lot of tef ends up
lying on the ground, making it hard to harvest.
Another challenge in many areas is lack of water, so breeding more drought-tolerant varieties
is also important. As there has been very little
international research into tef, there are relatively few data on which to draw. Among my team’s
tasks has therefore been to sequence the tef
genome. We accomplished that in 2014, and
made the information publicly available*.
What particularly fascinates you about tef?
That is a major achievement. But working in a
European laboratory, how relevant is your work
really for Ethiopia?
For Ethiopians, tef is much more than a crop.
It’s part of the national culture – a bit like cherry
blossom for the Japanese, but with some key
differences. Firstly, tef is vital for the country’s
nutrition; about 50 million Ethiopians depend on
it as their daily staple. Secondly, tef is an ‘orphan’: unlike for most cereals, there has been
virtually no international research into improving
the plant. So for an Ethiopian researcher like
me, tef represents both a huge need and a great
opportunity.
We’ve borne this crucial question in mind from
the beginning. If our research doesn’t help my
country’s farmers to improve food security, it’s
just an intellectual exercise. That is why we
have cooperated closely all the way with the
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
(EIAR). Once we had developed tef with shorter
stalks in Bern, we tested the varieties under
Ethiopian conditions. We did so mainly at the
EIAR site in Debre Zeit near Addis Ababa, but
also at 15 other research centers across the
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
country. In 2014 and 2015 we have been able
to select the best varieties, which we hope the
government will make available to leading farmers in 2016. They will try out the new tef on their
own fields, and if all goes well, then encourage
their neighbors to do the same.
Widespread adoption of this ‘semi-dwarf’ tef
would help solve the lodging problem. But what
about drought-tolerance and other challenges?
The EIAR is testing several tef lines that look as
if they cope better with dry conditions than the
traditional sort. We should be able to make a
more precise judgment in 2016. We have also
started investigating the possibility of coating
the tiny seeds in a uniform way to protect tef
against disease.
The Tef Improvement Project has attracted a lot
of media attention, and already won prizes. How
has Ethiopia benefited from this side of your
work?
Journalists have done a great job in drawing
attention to a vital food source of which most
people outside Ethiopia had never even heard.
Raising tef’s profile has made many Europeans,
in particular, more conscious of challenges
faced by our smallholders; such awareness is
always valuable. Longer-term, Ethiopia may
even be able to grow enough tef to satisfy some
of the increasing demand for this very healthy
cereal in other countries. Meanwhile, I have
been able to donate prize money to a charity
I started, Opportunity for Kids Ethiopia**. So
indirectly, children’s education is also benefiting
from tef research.
* C
annarozzi et al., BMC Genomics 2014, 15:581, accessible
via www.syngentafoundation.org/index.cfm?pageID=529.
** OK Ethiopia (www.opportunitykids.org) provides school supplies,
clothing, educational and farming opportunities for children.
Zerihun Tadele
Born in south-eastern Ethiopia in 1963,
married, two sons. Degrees from the universities of Addis Ababa, Haramaya and
Basel. Institute of Plant Sciences at Bern
University since 2002, currently as a
Group Leader. His project website is
www.tef-research.org. In his spare time,
Zerihun likes to read and support the
education of underprivileged children.
Tef Improvement
Project
Eragrostis tef belongs to the grass family;
it is closely related to small millets such
as finger millet. The seeds contain high
levels of protein and are free of gluten, to
which many people are allergic.
Tef is a vital food source for Ethiopia, but
suffers seriously from ‘lodging’ (see interview). To develop shorter tef less likely to
fall over, Zerihun Tadele’s team has used
a technology called TILLING (Targeting
Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes). This
non-transgenic method is designed to
introduce hereditable variation in the tef
germplasm, and identify mutant lines with
relevant traits.
The Syngenta Foundation has supported
the Tef Improvement Project since it
began in mid-2006. In 2015, we extended
the project contract for a further three
years.
More information is available on
www.syngentafoundation.org/index.cfm?pageID=529
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
31
A career in the service of
Mali’s farmers
Oumar Niangado retires from the Foundation
“Where, I wonder, would the Foundation be
today, if Oumar’s career had taken a different
path? What if he had stayed on at the Université de Paris-Sud, where he gained his PhD in
Agricultural Science? I am sure he would have
enjoyed great success there. But fortunately
for us and many others, his heart led him back
home, to serve Mali. There, in the country’s agricultural research organization IER, is where our
Foundation first met him.
Oumar Niangado
Oumar Niangado joined the then Novartis
Foundation for Sustainable Development in
1999 in Mali. He is now retiring from the
Syngenta Foundation as Delegate for West
Africa. This adapted excerpt from a speech
by our Chairman, Michael Demaré, describes
Oumar’s career and contribution.
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Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
In the early 1980’s, the Foundation helped the
IER to set up the Cinzana Research Station
– and what a perfect choice Mali made when
selecting its first Director! As a cereal breeder,
Oumar worked closely with ICRISAT* on technologies for the Sahel. Many thousands of Malian smallholders adopted the resulting varieties.
In partnership with the International Centre for
Research in Agroforestry, he was pivotal in making Cinzana a major center for this discipline.
Performances of this sort soon get noticed.
Oumar stepped straight from Cinzana to the
top of Mali’s R&D career ladder, becoming the
IER’s Director General. And of course other
organizations also noticed his talents. Over the
years, Oumar has been a member of CIRAD’s**
scientific commission and of the CGIAR***, as
well as of CERAAS #, and institutions including
the International Foundation for Science, and
the Fondation pour l’Agriculture et la Ruralité
dans le Monde. A recent addition to this distinguished list has been the Montpellier Panel ##.
And then, of course, there is our own organization, which successfully wooed Oumar away
from the public sector.
What do long-time Foundation colleagues say
when they think about Oumar Niangado? One of
them calls him “the Sage of the South”. Another
gives three titles: “Monsieur Facts, Monsieur
Chameleon and Monsieur Well-Read”. Apparently, if one gives Oumar a book at bedtime, he can
provide an in-depth review the next morning!
However, Oumar could also be a hard taskmasker. Former colleagues have never forgotten
their Sunday morning “little tours” of Cinzana
station – on foot, for four hours, at 35 degrees
Celsius in the non-existent shade, and with water only for the plants, because the Director had
promised “we won’t be long”. Looking back,
Oumar’s tourists felt more like camels than chameleons. But they seem to have forgiven him,
and remain very grateful to this day. Indeed,
we have all been deeply privileged to work with
Oumar, and owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
* International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics, www.icrisat.org
** France’s Agricultural Research & International Cooperation
Organization, www.cirad.fr/en/
*** A global consortium of agricultural research centers,
www.cgiar.org
# Regional Study Center for Improved Adaptation to Drought,
http://ceraas.org/
## An international expert panel on agricultural topics,
http://ag4impact.org/montpellier-panel/
As Oumar used to be a researcher, I am not surprised by the ‘Monsieur Facts’. But ‘Chameleon’
does raise some questions. The explanation is
as simple as it is complimentary: Oumar finds
the perfect manner wherever he goes – whether
with smallholders, cabinet ministers, international
NGOs, or even IT specialists when his laptop has
broken yet again. And his camouflage changes
perfectly with him – from traditional Malian boubou to silk tie to a legendary green baseball cap.
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
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People: the Syngenta
Foundation in December 2015
Board*
Michel Demaré, Chairman
Chairman of Syngenta and of the
Syngenta Foundation. Inter alia previously Chief Financial Officer of ABB.
Vice-Chairman of the Board of UBS,
and a member of the IMD Foundation
Board in Lausanne.
Marco Ferroni, Executive Director
Former executive at the Inter-American Development Bank and senior
advisor to the World Bank.
John Atkin
Chief Operating Officer for Syngenta
from 2000 - 2014, and a non-executive Director of the fresh produce
company Driscoll’s since 2011.
Andrew Bennett
Former Executive Director of the
Syngenta Foundation. President of the
Tropical Agricultural Association of the
UK and Chairman of the Board, Centre
of International Forestry Research
(CIFOR). Previously Director, Rural
Livelihoods and Environment, UK
Department for International Development.
Margaret Catley-Carlson
Former President of the Canadian
International Development Agency and
the Population Council, and from 1989
to 1992 Canada’s Deputy Minister of
Health and Welfare.
Radha Singh
Agriculture Advisor to the Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry. Former Agriculture Secretary
with the Government of India, previous
member of the ICRISAT board.
Eugene Terry
Former Chair of the World Agroforestry
Centre. Worked at the World Bank
from 1997 to 2002 and was DirectorGeneral of the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA).
Rebecca Hubert Scherler
Secretary to the Foundation Board
(see also under Team)
* John Atkin joined the Board in 2015. As of January 2016, Mohamed Ait Kadi also becomes a member of the Board on the retirement of Andrew Bennett and Eugene Terry.
Team**
Carola Amézaga, Advisor, Foundation projects Peru
Vivienne Anthony, Senior Scientific Advisor
Ian Barker, Head of Agricultural Partnerships
Robert Berlin, Head of Agricultural Services
Paul Castle, Communications Manager
Laura Ciliberto, Administrative Assistant
Dao Xuan Cuong, Program Director Vietnam
Marisa De Faveri, Office Manager
Youssou Diagne, Regional Coordinator, West Africa
Rice Program
Marco Ferroni, Executive Director
Rebecca Hubert Scherler, Legal Counsel
Victoria Johnson-Chadwick, Program Officer,
Seeds & Insurance
Dominik Klauser, Program Officer, R&D
Natalia Mezzenga, Finance & Operations Head
Clive Murray, Regional Project Manager in Asia
Miodrag Mitic, Managing Director, Farmforce
Oumar Niangado, Delegate for West Africa
George Osure, Regional Director East Africa
Baskar Reddy, Executive Director of Syngenta
Foundation India
Mike Robinson, Chief Science Advisor
Alexis Santiago, Advisor on Supply Chain & Quality,
“Qorichacra”
BT Seshadri, Advisor, Syngenta Foundation India
Olga Speckhardt, Head of Global Insurance Solutions
Teddy Tambu, Program Director Indonesia
Farhad Zamil, Director Bangladesh
Yuan Zhou, Head of Research and Policy Analysis
** T
he term “Team” refers both to staff and selected consultants. Dominik Klauser took up a new position at the Foundation after his 2013-14 internship. Youssou
Diagne, Miodrag Mitic, Alexis Santiago and Teddy Tambu joined the team in 2014, Natalia Mezzenga in 2015. Samuel Bauer worked as a Social Service volunteer
in Basel in 2015.
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Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
© 2016, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture,
Basel, Switzerland. All rights reserved.
Editorial completion: April 2016
Design: iPixel, Basel
Print: Steudler Press AG, Basel
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture Review 2014-2015
35
Contacts and
further information
For extensive further information on the
Foundation’s activities, please visit our
website: www.syngentafoundation.org
Contact address:
Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable
Agriculture
Schwarzwaldallee 215
4058 Basel
Switzerland
Phone +41 61 323 56 34
Fax +41 61 323 72 00
[email protected]