April 2024
The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture and Syngenta Group share a longstanding commitment to supporting smallholder farmers. The Foundation was established in 2001, just one year after Syngenta was founded, to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in poorer regions of the world.
Since its beginnings, the Foundation has been instrumental in delivering sustainable agriculture initiatives for pre-commercial smallholders. Its local teams currently work in a dozen African and Asian countries.
In recent years, Syngenta Group has been strengthening its strategic efforts to support commercial smallholders with innovative and transformative solutions, including improved access to products, agronomic training, and markets, and a large network of agricultural centers across China, Africa, Asia, and Central America.
In 2022, the Syngenta Group Board decided to phase out its financial support of the Foundation.
As a result, the Foundation will close its headquarters in Switzerland by the end of 2024. The Foundation will work closely with the Basel authorities to ensure that the closure of its operations is handled with the utmost care and responsibility, taking into account the people and partners affected, and adhering to all local procedures.
In its African and Asian countries of operation, however, the Foundation remains committed to promoting sustainable agriculture for pre-commercial smallholders. The Foundation is currently reviewing potential future directions for its programs, with final decisions to be made by the end of June at the latest. As part of this review, the Foundation is exploring options for its local teams to continue working in a new framework.