AGRA & Syngenta partner for Africa

June 2019, Nairobi/Basel –The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Syngenta and The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) have signed an agreement to work together towards their shared vision of transforming Africa’s agriculture.

The agreement will provide the basic framework for cooperation and coordination between the 3 organizations by building on their respective strengths, including their respective networks of stakeholders to improve smallholder farmers’ productivity, livelihoods, food security, income security, and well-being.

Specifically, the three institutions will work to give farmers access to:

• Yield-enhancing technologies including high-quality seeds, good agriculture practices, and post-harvest management. 
• Pest control products with a specific interest in the Fall Armyworm and to herbicides to reduce the burden of weeding on women. 
• Extension support through the Village Based Advisors (VBAs), SFSA's Farmer Hub or Agri-preneur models and demo plots 

Speaking during the signing of the agreement, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA, said that the private sector is critical to Africa’s agriculture transformation.

Agnes said AGRA partners with the private sector because we do not see the ag sector going anywhere without the private sector. She talked about AGRA’s role as catalytic to ensure the private sector goes further. AGRA would like to collaborate with companies that do businesses with communities. AGRA is interested in reaching scale. After signing, we need to clarify the business lines we can pursue together.

“We pursue partnerships with companies that do business with communities. We play a catalytic role and work with our alliance of partners to create an environment that enables such companies to do business. This is critical for both sustainability and for taking known solutions to scale for the benefit of smallholder farmers,” said Dr. Kalibata.

On his part, Peter Veal, Head of Africa and the Middle East for Syngenta said the organization will continue to work with partners that help in delivering real sustainable and profitable change for smallholder farmers.

“We place great value on continued investment into agriculture and partnerships that help smallholder farmers across Africa access and benefit from yield-enhancing technologies. Such partnerships help in delivering real change for farmers in terms of sustainability and profitability,” said Mr. Veal.

Simon Winter, Executive Director of Syngenta Foundation said that his organization will work with AGRA to help bring innovative technologies, services, and market opportunities to support smallholder Farmers.

“The Syngenta Foundation will work with the partners to support sustainable agriculture solutions. Specifically, we will help regenerate the environment and rural communities in Africa through support for agri-entrepreneurs enabling adoption of improved seeds, financial solutions, and risk-reducing climate-smart agricultural practices“said Mr. Winter.

The parties undertook to ensure that their interventions result in gender transformative growth that sees gender gaps reduce, and women’s empowerment increase, as the market system develops. They also agreed to partner on the annual African Green Revolution (AGRF) to raise awareness, showcase results and mobilize additional partners with a focus the 2019 edition of the AGRF to be held in Ghana 3-6 September,

For all media inquiries contact:

At AGRA: Waiganjo Njoroge, Interim Head of Communication, wnjoroge@agra.org or Tel. No: +254 723 857 270

At Syngenta: Nicoletta Pavese, Business Sustainability Manager, nicoletta.pavese@syngenta.com or Tel. No:  +41 61 323 07 77

At SFSA: Mamadou Cisse, Communications Manager, Mamadou.cisse@Syngenta.com or tel. No: +41 79 810 81 83

About AGRA: Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led, Africa-based and farmer-centered institution working to put smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming their farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives. Working in collaboration with our partners including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less. In the new strategy for 2017-2021, AGRA is supporting 11 African countries and 30 million smallholder farm households (150 million individuals) to increase their incomes and improve their food security. For more information, visit www.agra.org 

About Syngenta: Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world-class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing the land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/Syngenta.

About Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA): The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture is a non-profit organization founded by Syngenta AG, whose mission is to create value for resource-poor smallholder farmers in developing countries by supporting innovation in sustainable agriculture and the activation of value chains. The operational strategy of the SFSA includes growth in local seed systems, insurance, and risk products, as well as last mile market and delivery solutions. To achieve its targets, SFSA partners with several reputable private and public organizations. For more information, visit www.syngentafoundation.org.