KYIV. April 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – One of the largest crop protection agent and seed producer in the world Syngenta under the Good Growth Plan has been implementing the project to fight degradation of farms on the basis of the Syrokodostup farm (Kyiv region) until 2020.
One of the company’s commitments aims at solving the urgent problem of farm production: to save as much farmland as possible from degradation, the company said.
The company said that the project in Ukraine will last for five years. The company started implementing it in 2015 on 280 ha of Syrokodostup farm. The land bank of the company is around 3,500 ha.
Syngenta attracted scientists from institutions to study soil and give recommendations how to reclaim it. Syngenta is financing the studies, while the farm is obliged to stick to the recommendations using own funds. The soil changes are being monitored.
Under the Good Growth Plan in Ukraine Syngenta is committed to increase sustainability of planting corn (8%) and sunflower (15%) without expansion of areas, water consumption and other expenses.
The company selected farms in three regions – Vinnytsia, Kyiv and Cherkasy. They will take part in the project.
The company’s experts have drawn up a so-called protocol for each farm aimed at boosting the yield of some crops. In 2016, the yield of corn was increased by 5.5% and sunflower – by 6.7%.
Syngenta also trains farmers how to work safely with crop protection agents. In 2016, Syngenta specialists conducted labor safety seminars for almost 700 farmers.
Syngenta has six global commitments under the Good Growth Plan until 2020, including the increase of average productivity of the world’s major crops by 20 percent without using more land, water or inputs, the improvement of the fertility of 10 million hectares of farmland on the brink of degradation, enhancement of biodiversity on 5 million hectares of farmland, reaching 20 million smallholders and enable them to increase productivity by 50%, training 20 million farm workers on labor safety, especially in developing countries and striving for fair labor conditions throughout our entire supply chain network.
Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown.
