Could you give us an overview of Syngenta’s presence and legacy in Brazil? how important is Brazil/Latam to Syngenta’s global business? 

Syngenta has a significant presence in Brazil, as evidenced by our sales figures. In 2022, the sales of crop protection solutions surpassed US$16 billion, with sales in Latin America alone reaching approximately US$6.449 billion. This highlights the importance of Brazil and Latin America to Syngenta's global business strategy, and the company prioritizes the region to maintain its market position. Overall, our legacy in Brazil is one of sustainability and innovation, as the company strives to support farmers in their efforts to produce more food while minimizing their environmental impact.

Could you highlight some recent milestones within Syngenta Brazil?

One significant achievement was the launch of the PLINAZOLIN^® technology at the beginning of last year. This technology forms the basis of a revolutionary family of high-performance insecticides. The active ingredient has a new mode of action and is effective against a broad spectrum of pests, including resistant ones, delivering unprecedented insect control on stinkbugs, mites, thrips, caterpillars, flies, and beetles. The molecule can be used in over 40 crops, including soybeans, corn, cotton, coffee, rice, and a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants.

Furthermore, Syngenta Digital, the company's global structure for digital services, has made important advances in the Brazilian market. Currently the platform monitors over 80 million hectares worldwide through Cropwise, which includes eight applications that meet the distinct needs of farmers. In Brazil, two of these solutions, Cropwise Protector and Cropwise Imagery, are available to farmers.

Cropwise Protector was developed to facilitate and simplify processes and diagnoses for farmers, providing a complete mapping of the crop. The interface was modified to deliver new functionalities, and the analysis, maps and graphics generated by the digital monitoring allow the farmer to act quickly and accurately on indicators and events that bring risks to the farm, leveraging crop yield.

What is the Role of SYNAP? 

SYNAP - Syngenta Agriculture Platform - is the new corporate brand for the commercial platform, launched in April 2023. The holding composes the stores of Atua Agro, Dipagro, 

Agro Jangada, and Agrocerrado brands. The main objective of SYNAP is to ensure that farmers in strategic regions for agriculture growth have access to the technologies and innovations provided by Syngenta. Overall, the holding integrates units distributed across Brazil, serving over 25 million hectares and more than 350 commercial consultants dedicated to meeting the demands of farmers of all sizes and various crop types.

In summary, SYNAP plays a crucial role in providing farmers with access to innovative technologies and solutions that help improve their productivity and sustainability. 

Could you share your latest product innovations?

Recently was announced the creation of Syngenta Biologicals, which brings together our internal expertise in biological products with Valagro, a pioneer in bio-stimulants and special nutrients acquired in 2020, to meet the rapid growth of the global biological products market. This initiative reinforces our strategy of providing farmers with complementary product and technology options.

These biological products are adapted to local agricultural challenges, including climate change and biodiversity sensitivity. 

What are your objectives moving forward?

Alongside our focus on delivering the best products and services to meet farmers' needs, we are also heavily invested in sustainability through the Reverte program. Created in 2019 in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Itaú BBA, one of the largest banks in Latin America, which provides financial support and EMBRAPA, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, acting as its technical advisor, the program aims to support farmers in transforming degraded pastures into productive land through agronomic techniques and long-term financing, without the need for opening new land, supporting environmental preservation.

It is estimated that at least 50% of the world's soil is degraded, with 85 million hectares showing some level of degradation, and 32 million of those hectares in Brazil with the potential for agriculture. Our goal with the Reverte program is to recover 1 million hectares for cultivable and productive soils by 2030. Currently, the program covers over 170,000 hectares, mainly in the regions of Mato Grosso and Goiás.

The program has already released over US$110 million to enable farmers to finance the materials needed to recover the soils, with over 254 farms and 48 groups committed to the initiative.