Measuring Sustainability

Since the dawn of agriculture, growers have embarked on a journey to produce the greatest amount of food using the fewest resources possible. Today, most people refer to this concept as "sustainable farming." At Syngenta, we simply call it "growing more from less."

For decades, our industry has made remarkable gains in using land, water, fertilizer and energy more efficiently. Filled with successes too often unsung, this evolving story of continuous improvement has no end in sight. Its latest chapter features a new set of players - major processors, manufacturers, consumer-market retailers and food-service companies - asking how sustainable is the production of agricultural commodities that they use in their products or sell in their stores. The answer requires growers and suppliers like you to produce documentation of your current sustainable footprint. This baseline information can then help you identify strategies and document on-farm improvements, which are beginning to factor into buyers' sourcing decisions.

In concept, the process of collecting, securing and analyzing farm data seems easy, but in practice, it's difficult. My team's role within Syngenta is to develop the knowledge and systems you will need to facilitate this process and protect the confidentiality of your data. Our goal is to help you gain access to the tools, products and information that will enable you to tell your story effectively and credibly so that you, in turn, can successfully meet emerging downstream expectations.

"Our goal is to help you gain access to the tools, products and information that will enable you to tell your story effectively and credibly so that you, in turn, can successfully meet emerging downstream expectations."

For example, our AgriEdge Excelsior^® program uses metrics from Field to Market^®: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and integrates them into Land.db^™ farm management software to make data collection and entry efficient, accurate and secure, with no extra systems or steps required. The program also features a dedicated team of Syngenta experts who support and advise participants along the way.

Of course, our greatest assets are our people and their commitment to our science. From high-yielding seeds and traits to integrated water-optimization strategies, we are developing the tools that will help our industry bridge the gap between what is available now and what will be needed later.

The Good Growth Plan publicly affirms our pledge to boost resource efficiency, rejuvenate ecosystems and strengthen rural communities. To accomplish these objectives, we proudly join stakeholders from across the globe in mapping out lasting solutions that can lead us toward a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow. If we can work together and get it right, perhaps we can authentically tell our own story that ends with handing the next generation a world better than we found it.