| Rede des Präsidenten des Stiftungsrats der Syngenta Stiftung für
nachhaltige Landwirtschaft, Herr Heinz Imhof, anlässlich der
öffentlichen Gründungsveranstaltung am Freitag, 12. Oktober 2001,
im Naturhistorischen Museum Basel
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor and great pleasure to present our Syngenta Foundation
for Sustainable Agriculture to you today.
Our Foundation
- supports research projects on the sustainable security of food
supplies in the poorest regions of the world
- performs scientific work of its own to promote public discussion
of nutritional problems and
- makes conceptual contributions on sustainable agriculture in developing
and industrialized countries, working in a close network with organizations
and research establishments all over the world
The new Foundation hopes that this work will help improve the security
of food supplies.
The security of food supplies and sustainable agriculture are urgent
topics which concern us all. Over the past fifty years, the number of
people on this planet has tripled. In twenty-five years' time, the world's
population will have grown to eight billion. Experts forecast that the
demand for increasingly high-quality food will result in a doubling
of global calorie consumption. Extending the agricultural area to meet
this rising demand would, for instance, mean destroying forests. This
would have unforeseeable ecological consequences. The only solution
can therefore be to increase yields on existing farmland.
Innovations in pest control, fertilizers and seed material will in
future be able to ensure the sustainable improvement of food supply
security.
Today, one in eight people worldwide suffers from hunger or malnutrition.
The situation is worst in South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Over
150 million children under the age of five are underweight in these
regions, so much so that their health is at risk. Every single day,
24 000 people die from the consequences of malnutrition. Every ten days,
that adds up to more than the entire population of the Basel region.
It is cold comfort to know that everything could be far worse. However,
in its latest annual report, the United Nations Development Program
shows that some successes have been achieved in the fight against hunger
and malnutrition. Today people are, on average, healthier than they
used to be. They live longer, and more of them are able to read and
write. In the past ten years, the number of undernourished people in
developing countries has fallen by 40 million. This progress is largely
attributable to modern agricultural methods.
Syngenta operates all over the world and seeks sustainable success.
Companies like ours keep the social benefits of their goods and services
under constant review. In addition, we all hope to be seen as a responsible
employer, a dependable taxpayer and a good corporate citizen committed
to general welfare. Endeavoring to achieve commercial success does not
exclude humanitarian and charitable commitments. Quite the contrary:
a company that is committed to the well-being of society, over and above
its commercial activities, not only "does good". It also invests in
the high reputation and social acceptance of its business - both of
which are important criteria for corporate success.
The political, economic, social and ecological requirements for the
improvement of the security of food supplies are well known. There is
also fundamental agreement on the distribution of responsibility between
state agencies and the other relevant bodies like private businesses
or scientific institutions. The problem is therefore not a lack of knowledge
of the conditions that promote development and reduce misery. It is
rather a lack of resolve to take targeted action based on this knowledge.
Our Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture
aims to intervene wherever it can take direct action
against poverty and misery. It can do so, for example,
by supporting research programs that benefit poor farmers
in developing countries who primarily grow food for
their own families. The quantity of fertile soil and
clean water will continue to diminish. That will make
it even more difficult to supply people everywhere with
enough locally-produced food of appropriate quality.
Syngenta intends not only to contribute towards solving
these problems through its normal business activities,
but also via its Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.
The concept of "sustainable agriculture" is not fancy window-dressing.
It is our Foundation's whole raison d'étre. Agriculture is sustainable
if it makes economical and intelligent use of its resources - in the
first instance soil, water, seeds and labor. That is only possible when
people openly discuss their own local problems, and can develop and
implement their own appropriate local solutions.
The Foundation is willing to cooperate with everyone who shares these
convictions. The security of food supplies for resource-poor
people can only be sustainably improved through a varied
combination of knowledge and skills. Our successful
cooperation with local NGO's and with leading international
institutions all confirm this principle. The latter
include the World Bank, the FAO, and the agencies united
under the aegis of CGIAR, i.e. the Research Institutes
for wheat and maize (CIMMYT), for rice (IRRI), and for
fundamental economic and political research on the security
of food supplies for developing countries (IFPRI).
As many of you know, the Syngenta Foundation is continuing
the agricultural projects that the Novartis Foundation
for Sustainable Development has successfully run for
many years. This seems to me the right moment to thank
Professor Klaus Leisinger most warmly for his contribution
to the establishment of the Syngenta Foundation. His
dedication to the cause of the developing countries'
poor, his ability to motivate people of different origins
to work together and lead them right through to the
attainment of a goal, and his courage in repeatedly
contributing uncomfortable truths to public debate,
all deserve great recognition and respect. We are very
glad that Professor Leisinger is willing to continue
establishing and heading the Syngenta Foundation over
the coming months until we are able to appoint a new
Director. The Foundation will initially have three permanent
employees, and a budget this year of around four million
Swiss francs. My fellow-members of the board of directors
are Professor Christian Bonte-Friedheim, Pierre Landolt
and Klaus Leisinger.
The Syngenta Foundation is currently promoting three projects in Sub-Saharan
Africa. They all share the basic aim of contributing
to the sustainable security of food supplies grown by
small farmers.
In Eritrea, we are working with Swiss and international development
organizations to support a program for the sustainable use of soil and
water. The focus is on local projects and institutions such as Ministries
and university Faculties of Geography and Agriculture, which are to
be strengthened through further training and improvement of their infrastructure.
Initial results of this research were presented at an FAO conference,
and thus made available to other interested parties.
In Mali, we are working with the government to support the Cinzana
Research Station. It raises local varieties of millet and sorghum, develops
cultivation techniques adapted to the needs of the different agro-ecological
zones of The Sahel, and trains small farmers in their use. This project
has been very successful for many years, and enjoys an excellent international
reputation.
In Kenya, we are helping the International Maize and Wheat Research
Institute (CIMMYT) and the National Research Establishment
(KARI) to develop new varieties of maize resistant to
stem borers. Biotechnological methods are being used
alongside traditional techniques. With this project
the Foundation is helping African scientists and practitioners
to gather experience with the latest methods of seed
production in their own country. It is simultaneously
supporting the creation of the necessary legal framework.
Exemplary open communication within and beyond the project,
and compliance with the most stringent international
safety standards, also contribute to making this project
a true yardstick.
I hope that these examples successfully illustrate
the commitment of our Foundation to small farmers in
developing countries. I am sure that this commitment,
its scientific analyses and practical experience, will
benefit every advocate of sustainable agriculture: farmers
in developing countries, people committed to development
policy, and our own employees who would like to make
further contributions in this sphere. All of us who
are working hard for the success of this Foundation
look forward to suggestions, criticism and a positive
eye on our efforts.
I wish Professor Leisinger and his team the success so urgently needed
by suffering people in developing countries, and by sustainable agriculture
all over the world.
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