- Strengthening of a unique NGO-corporation collaboration model
that links conservation goals with economic potential and addresses
societal issues like deforestation and land degradation.
- Extension of multi-year agreement that started in 2018,
focusing on five strategic projects across the globe.
- By 2026, ambitious target to recover over 300 thousand hectares
of degraded land in Cerrado Brazil and regenerate agricultural
soils in China with a focus to impact the agricultural sector for
the adaption of sustainable farming practices. In the US the focus
lies in enhancing climate resilience of crop land.
- Collaboration and innovation drive the transformation of
agriculture into a climate solution that regenerates soil and
nature.
Syngenta Group, the leading global agriculture technology
company, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a world-wide
conservation organization with the mission to conserve the lands
and waters on which all life depends, today renewed their
successful collaboration that links conservation goals with
economic potential and addresses societal issues like deforestation
and land degradation. The two partners have been collaborating
since 2009 and entered into a global collaboration in 2018.
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the full release here:
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Regenerating degraded land in Cerrado
Brazil (Photo: Business Wire)
The new three-year collaboration builds on successful projects
and focuses on further advancing business practices with the goals
to scale up regenerative agriculture, improve resource efficiency
to minimize impact of agriculture on climate, improve soil health,
and promote habitat protection in major agricultural regions
worldwide including the Cerrado region of Brazil, China, and the
United States.
The collaboration embodies Syngenta’s commitment to regenerate
soil and nature, core to its new Group-wide sustainability
priorities announced in April 2024.
Petra Laux, Chief Sustainability Officer of Syngenta Group: “We
are very proud to continue our collaboration with TNC and our
partnership for impact. We want to further leverage our efforts
towards a climate solution-oriented agriculture fueled by
innovation and partnerships that regenerate soil and protect
nature. Agriculture must not only feed a growing global population
over the coming decades, but it also needs to fight climate change
and safeguard natural resources.”
Restoring millions of hectares of degraded land in Brazil,
China and the US
Syngenta has set an ambitious target to recover 1 million
hectares of degraded land throughout Brazil, with a significant
portion focused on the Cerrado where the TNC collaborates with the
company.
The goal of the initiative is to make the restoration of
degraded land the profitable option sought by farmers in Brazil
when expanding their production, instead of clearing native
vegetation. The REVERTE® program, originally designed by Syngenta
and TNC for the Cerrado due to its significant potential, includes
Itaú BBA bank as the organization offering a line of credit for the
growers following socio-environmental criteria.
Michael Doane, Global Managing Director Food & Freshwater
Systems, TNC: “REVERTE® aims to demonstrate, through an integrated
solution involving good agricultural practices, financial tools,
policy, and business models, the economic viability of restoring
degraded pastures instead of opening new cultivation areas and
avoiding deforestation. Restoring land in the Cerrado delivers soil
and water conservation benefits, increases carbon sequestration,
and can increase the resilience of the production systems to
extreme climate events. The program aims to support the
transformation of agribusiness in the Cerrado, generating social,
economic, and environmental benefits today and in the future.”
As of March 2024, REVERTE® has garnered commitments from over
263 farms, encompassing a total of 202 thousand hectares of
degraded land, with 137 thousand in the Cerrado biome.
China: The Run Tian project has already regenerated 2400
hectares of agricultural soils in the North China Plain, the
largest wheat producing area in China. It has also trained more
than 17 thousand farmers on regenerative agricultural practices,
leading to increases in yields by 4%, soil moisture storage 300m3
per hectare and net benefit USD 360 per hectare. Moving forward,
Run Tian will develop new business strategies to further improve
soil health to empower and support frontline producers to protect
the soil ecosystem. It will also leverage Syngenta Group’s
fast-growing network of Modern Agriculture Platform (MAP) centers
that promote sustainable farming practices. The MAP offering helps
farmers modernize their farms sustainably, while boosting crop
quality, yield and farm profitability. As part of Syngenta Group’s
recently published Sustainability Priorities, the company has a
target to expand the number of farmer service centers to 1000 by
2028.
United States: In the US, the collaboration will develop
and launch two new projects. The first will focus on enhancing
cropland’s climate resilience and reducing farming pressure on
water resources by unlocking diverse crop rotations with
regenerative sorghum production. In a parallel effort, the
collaboration will also look to scale regenerative agriculture
practices with seeds producers in the US, as part of the broader
global Syngenta Seeds effort to implement regenerative agriculture
in seed production. The collaboration with TNC will bring new
business value to farmers, while reducing the environmental
footprint of the seeds supply chain and preserving the quality of
seeds delivered to Syngenta Group customers. Syngenta Group
supports a broad range of sustainability projects and partners with
academia and industry around the world – demonstrating its
commitment to a collaborative approach.
Syngenta Group and TNC will hold a LinkedIn Live event on the
partnership progress. Tzutzuy Ramirez and Roberto Castro, Syngenta,
and Michael Wironen and Rodrigo Spuri, TNC, will discuss how the
partners will continue to develop their unique NGO-corporation
collaboration model and what the plans are for the future. The
event will be hosted on the Syngenta LinkedIn page on Wednesday,
May 29 at 14.30 CET
About Syngenta Group
Syngenta Group is one of the world’s biggest agricultural
technology companies, with roots going back more than 250 years.
With around 60,000 employees, operating in more than 100 countries,
the company strives to transform agriculture with science-driven,
technological innovations to deliver high productivity and
high-quality food while fighting climate change and restore nature.
Syngenta Group works with farmers and partners to deliver four
Sustainability Priorities: Higher Yields, Lower Impact; Regenerate
Soil and Nature; Improve Rural Prosperity; and Sustainable
Operations. The priorities are underpinned by regenerative
agriculture practices to nurture and restore soil health, protect
the climate and biodiversity, and enhance farm productivity and
profitability. Syngenta Group, which is registered in Shanghai,
China, and has its management headquarters in Switzerland, draws
strength from its four business units: Syngenta Crop Protection,
headquartered in Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds, headquartered in the
United States; ADAMA®, headquartered in Israel; and Syngenta Group
China. Together, these businesses provide industry-leading ways to
serve customers around the world.
For Syngenta Group photos and videos, please visit the Syngenta
Group Media Library.
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization
dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life
depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground
solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and
people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change,
conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale,
providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more
sustainable. Working in 72 countries, we use a collaborative
approach that engages local communities, governments, the private
sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or
follow @nature_press on Twitter.
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Media Relations media@syngentagroup.com
Ciaran Clayton, Director of Global Media Relations +1
703-841-4253 ciaran.clayton@tnc.org