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Marco Ferroni, why did you accept the position of Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture? You worked for a long time for the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, both of which are based in Washington DC. Why did you decide to move from these big institutions to a smaller foundation?
Marco Ferroni: Yes, it was a big change. But what fascinates me about my new job is all that we are doing and can achieve as a foundation. What is more, my professional career began in international agriculture. I liked the idea of returning to this field after all these years. Work in the environment of a major international business like Syngenta which invests very heavily in research and development is an exciting proposition. In the final analysis, what really counts is that foundations are able to get things done in ways that other organizations, in the private and the public sector, may not necessarily be able to achieve.
What do you mean by that?
Marco Ferroni: A foundation is less intrusive or special interest-driven than others may be perceived to be. As a small player, we are not in the focus of world politics and controversy. But we can perhaps initiate things that others may not wish to take on or may not be able to start but could implement once initial uncertainty and hurdles are overcome. In a sense, therefore, we can act as a catalyst or initiating force to bring about desirable change.
The Foundation has a mission of course: how would you define it?
Marco Ferroni: We want to offer resource-poor farmers and rural people in developing countries, often in semi-arid or drought-stricken regions, prospects and new opportunities to improve their lives through sustainable innovations in agriculture.
How exactly does the Foundation go about this?
Marco Ferroni: We regard two areas or “pathways” as important: firstly, the improvement of production, i.e. bigger yields and better harvests and, secondly, better integration of small farmers into markets.
Worldwide, the Foundation operates on many continents and in different countries, for example in Eritrea, Kenya and Mali in Africa, in Brazil in Latin America and relatively recently on the Indian subcontinent. How are priorities set here to decide where you want to operate?
Marco Ferroni: I believe it is appropriate for the Foundation to be active on several continents. Of course, we could decide to focus on a single continent or perhaps even a single country. But I do not believe that this would be the right approach. Comparative work around the globe, to the extent that our own capacities so permit, is important for our kind of development cooperation, the drawing in of partners and the promotion of business solutions to problems in agriculture and food value chains.
What about the content and concepts? What main themes has the Foundation chosen for its work? The range of activities extends from access to new technologies to the promotion of economic growth in some sense and the conservation of plant biodiversity.
Marco Ferroni: At first sight, your enumeration may make it look as though our resources were scattered, and it is certainly the case that we must focus on a limited number of specific issues in our work. Our two key domains, i.e. the improvement of harvests and the integration of farmers into markets, are closely linked and enable synergies to be exploited. As to the conservation of plant biodiversity, let me point out that this is one of the keys to the long-term achievement of better harvests – an important area which we are supporting through several innovative international programs.
How do you measure the progress and successes of the Foundation in this regard?
Marco Ferroni: We are results-oriented and take great care to measure results, and above all, we want to learn from our experience. We must measure results even if this is not necessarily easy to do. How best to define the indicators of success and measure results? How do the elements of the chain, from activities and resources to intermediate results, combine to create final outcomes? Often in our kind of work, it can take a long time until development impacts can be verified and understood. If for example in India, projects supported by the Syngenta Foundation India and our global Foundation result in luscious fields planted to cauliflowers, aubergines, tomatoes and lettuce, success – or at least one measure of it – is visible for all to see. But the net effect of these agricultural extension projects on incomes and peoples’ lives can depend on numerous factors (including some beyond the projects’ control) and if likely to take time to materialize.
You just mentioned India. Have you already visited other countries on behalf of the Foundation? Marco Ferroni: Yes, I have travelled relatively widely in recent times. I was in China in December and before that in Africa, in Mali and Kenya, which was peaceful at the time.
We also organized a meeting in Rome, Italy, on the topic of agriculture, trade and food security with experts from many parts of the world. We are currently witnessing an escalation of the prices of staple foodstuffs all over the world which is assuming serious proportions from the consumer’s point of view. World cereals stocks are lower than they have been at any time in recent decades. There are both short and long-term reasons for this. One long-term reason must surely be the constant rise in the price of oil. Staple food prices (cereals and oil seeds, that is) are increasingly correlated with the price of oil.
How do you answer the criticism that the Foundation is not more than a “fig leaf” for Syngenta because the company is really only interested in the profits it can make in the developing countries. Marco Ferroni: That argument is sometimes encountered but much less often than I anticipated before I came. I regard the Foundation as an expression of the sustainability policy pursued by Syngenta and as part of the company’s corporate responsibility. Many of the small farmers in poorer countries with whom we cooperate are not at present a market for Syngenta. Should this ever change, as I hope it does, it would mean that the situation of these people has improved – which is surely desirable.
Will the Foundation undergo many changes in coming years? Marco Ferroni: I hope that we will be able to consolidate and grow. An institution such as ours should grow on the strength of its strategy, its ability to learn, the tasks it performs and the results it achieves. We are currently developing new strategies and methods of work, but always with reference to the two “pathways” of which I spoke earlier. We receive many applications for support and develop our own programs, for example to create or deepen value chains in which small farmers can play a profitable part. Another area which we are examining is that of insurance, for instance the possibility of taking out cover against harvest failures and other potentially insurable risks. We see many opportunities for the Foundation and are considering how best to intervene. Our role is primarily that of emitting impulses and take projects to the “proof of concept” stage, as distinct for instance from the financing of programs and investments on a larger scale.
How do you envisage cooperation with organizations like Basaid, the Association for Development Aid which involves employees of companies in the Basel region, including some from Syngenta? Are such institutions still relevant? Or should all development aid be handled by professionals? Marco Ferroni: I believe it makes very good sense for us to have a multi-actor world of development cooperation. In our work, we are used to having all kinds of different partners, ranging from private companies to State bodies, non-governmental organizations, and other foundations and stakeholders. However, cooperation with Basaid has other interesting dimensions: on the one hand, I believe it is important for staff to become active as thinking individuals who act because they feel directly concerned. On the other, there are at Basaid active and retired employees of the Basel-based industries who previously worked abroad or have cooperated intensively with some countries and therefore are familiar with the problems of development and think globally. I very much hope that we will be able to establish an open exchange of ideas with Basaid and other aid organizations in future!
We will soon be celebrating World Water Day, World Malaria Day and World Food Day: are these sensible opportunities for reflection or simply days just like any other? Marco Ferroni: No, I regard these “world days” as a very sensible institution which calls attention to key problems and creates awareness. On World Food Day, 16 October, in particular we would like to organize an event which does justice to the occasion, at the very least in the form of an expert discussion on the evolving challenges of food security. The issue is very timely, as witnessed by the soaring prices, as mentioned, which in some countries have led to riots as reported in the international press. There are understandable demands by the local population for more affordable food. Many possible solutions must be examined, for both the short and the longer term. Agricultural markets must remain open, and we need a new thrust in agricultural technology, to name just two central aspects.
What about the other world days? Marco Ferroni: Yes, for example World Malaria Day has a great deal of potential. At long last, more action is being taken today to address this disease than has been the case just a few years ago – this goes for the provision of money as well. But the problem of malaria is certainly anything but under control worldwide. Many in Africa are victims of the disease – they are ill or exhausted on account of it – and this is a huge barrier to enhanced productivity in agriculture. A great deal of work remains to be done here going forward.
Interview: Peter C. Müller |
