Syngenta became a member of SWISSCO as the company’s commitments are in line with our goals. As a Swiss-based leading agribusiness and supplier of technologies and quality inputs, Syngenta plays a leading role in West African cocoa production. Read more about their contribution to achieving SWISSCO’s goals for a more sustainable value chain and how their Good Growth Plan supports accomplishing those goals.
The interview was conducted with Pete Veal, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), based in the AME headquarters in Basel.
What is Syngenta’s connection to / role in the cocoa sector?
Syngenta as a leading agriculture company is helping to improve rural prosperity and farmer incomes by enabling farmers to make better use of existing resources through our technologies and services. We have employees in more than 90 countries around the world and indeed in the major cocoa-growing countries like Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. We provide input technology, knowledge, and services to transform how crops are grown and protected and in doing so support sustainable cocoa production.
What made Syngenta join the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO)?
Achieving sustainability in the cocoa value chain is not something that any actor can do alone. As part of our Good Growth Plan, we are committed to partnering for impact. Collective action by like-minded partners is the only way to deliver sustainable development.
Where do you see Syngenta’s biggest potential to contribute to achieving SWISSCO’s goals concerning enhancing sustainability in the cocoa value chain?
We are supporting sustainable development by improving the use of existing resources and empowering communities. Around 70% of the world's cocoa is grown by small-scale farmers in West Africa. Technologies that increase their yields and specific knowledge and techniques which enable them to protect, if not regenerate, the ability of our environment to keep returning high yields are crucial.
Our commitment to helping unlock the potential of our sector sustainably is reflected in our Good Growth Plan available on our website.
In its “Good Growth Plan”, Syngenta puts the urgent fight against climate change and biodiversity loss at the heart of farming’s productive future, emphasizing that this is a step change toward regenerative agriculture. Could you please elaborate on how this “Good Growth Plan” will contribute to a more sustainable cocoa value chain?
We are bringing yield boosting sustainable technologies and knowledge to farmers. We are also partnering for impact. An example of this can be seen in Nigeria where we are working with Tulip Cocoa Processing Ltd and Local Buying Agents (LBAs) eg. Fairshare Ltd, to help produce high-quality cocoa that is sustainably farmed. This partnership has empowered 28,000 farmers, providing training to improve yields sustainably and grow top-quality cocoa. Farmers have been trained on the safe use and application of crop protection. They have also been trained in integrated pest management (IPM) practices which help manage pests and diseases in cocoa sustainably. Improved agronomic techniques together with the timely and correct use of inputs are crucial to high-quality cocoa. Training farmers in the safe use and application of crop protection products for cocoa is vital to maintaining global supplies.
Another example is our CANOHYE partnership with Cargill in Ghana (the world's second-largest cocoa-producing country) where we are empowering smallholder farmers and supporting sustainable cocoa production. CANOHYE is an e-money input saving program whereby farmers are given the opportunity to save cocoa revenues over time. This financial management support is coupled with agronomic support to enable access to quality crop protection products at a reduced price.
In Africa, we have trained more than 4 million people as part of our Good Growth Plan on the safe use of our products and improved agronomic techniques.
The use of pesticides and fertilizers can adversely affect human and environmental health, for a variety of reasons. In light of widespread criticism of the use of agrochemicals and an increasing call for the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), what are weak points your industry must tackle most urgently and how is Syngenta planning on going on about this?
Pesticides are a critical tool to help farmers around the world protect their crops, ensure their livelihoods, and provide food to a growing population. Their safe use is crucial, which is why we train farmers on their safe use and partner to enable this. We also provide training on good agronomic practices so that indeed organic, biological and / or synthetic chemicals complement good yield-increasing practices. One cannot replace the other. Cocoa grows in a tropical environment which promotes insect and fungal growth and if farmers do not have access to tools to control these, they will be in a worse position. A holistic approach is needed whereby sustainable practices are used and crop protection is introduced in a targeted manner and only when needed.
We are also working with partners like the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to investigate the efficacy of biological products and build cocoa protocols that enable higher yields whilst not harming pollinators.
From your perspective, what is the biggest obstacle/challenge to achieving a more sustainable cocoa value chain?
As in most crops, there are various challenges facing the cocoa value chain. The main challenges revolve around the farm with the downstream value chain to processing and the consumer quite well developed. From our perspective, the key ones are climate change (more acute in certain areas / countries than others), reduced soil quality and old, unproductive trees. An overarching challenge is farmer education.
We find cocoa farmers are generally at quite a low level of education compared to other crops. Training programs are key to address many of the issues above but delivering at scale can only be done in partnership. Soil health is linked to this and replacing the high amount of copper being used will help address this. Syngenta is introducing copper-free solutions to control black pod disease. Provision of new high yielding seedlings is key to growing sustainable yields and incomes as well as tackling deforestation. Again to do this at scale, requires commitment from all partners.
With the latest developments on the EU-level on Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) commitments of small and big industries, there is increasing pressure on international players regarding supply chain HRDD. How do you approach the topic of HRDD within your company’s work in the cocoa sector?
We are committed to fair labour as reflected in our Good Growth Plan. We apply fair labour standards and labour laws throughout our operations on farms and in production plants and expect our suppliers to do the same. We have strict contractual requirements, such as prohibiting child labour and helping suppliers meet our standards through intensive training, periodic assessments and financial incentives
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