Syngenta’s unlikely ally

FARM chemical giants and environmental lobby groups are frequently at loggerheads about agriculture’s impact on farmland, farm communities and ecological issues, but Syngenta’s ambitious “good growth plan” vows have drawn keen support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).  As previously reported by Fairfax Agricultural Media, crop protection and seed breeding giant Syngenta has set itself a bold target to make its crops 20 per cent more productive by 2020 without using more land, water or other farm inputs including fertiliser.  The Swiss-UK agribusiness conglomerate is also vowing to rescue endangered farmland around the world by putting its scientific know-how into improving the fertility and usefulness of 10 million hectares on the brink of degradation.  WWF’s Australian manager for sustainable agriculture Rob Cairns said a lot of the technology being promoted by Syngenta he saw as having good environmental outcomes.  But Mr Cairns said just as important was educating people to appreciate the differences between good and poor agricultural technology and practices, and encouraging those working hard to improve food and fibre sustainability. Consumers needed to appreciate the considerable effort farmers must go through to provide food that met today’s market expectations. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: Australia | Company: Syngenta | Source: Queensland Country Life