Challenge s  and ourcontri b ution Input costs Societal pressures Governments and regulators Environmental  pressures 15 Syng enta Annual Review  2011 Growers must contend with  external environmental impacts:  climate change, weather volatility  and water scarcity. While striving  to increase their productivity  despite these challenges, they  face growing pressure to  minimize their own environmental  impacts and play a full part in  sustaining ecosystem services  and biodiversity. We can  help through our modern  technology which is designed  to preserve the environment,  and through our education  and stewardship activities. Local manufacturing makes our  products affordable to smallholders  and pack sizes are adapted to local  needs. Timely advice matters, too –  so that farmers do not spray more  often than is necessary, for example.  In markets such as China, where  chemical overuse is a particular  problem, better education and  more modern products can save  farmers money while reducing  environmental impacts. In developed economies, health  awareness among consumers  and governments is leading to  increased government intervention  in food consumption patterns.  In 2011, Denmark introduced the  world’s first tax on saturated fats.  Food producers are also  responding, with Pepsico for  example launching a range of  potato chips which it claims has  50 percent less fat than existing  products. So alongside the  regulation of technology, there  is the need to expand the scope  of technology to further cater for  end-user requirements. Raising farm productivity often  means higher input costs: farmers  need to invest upfront in better  seed and more sophisticated  crop protection. The return on  investment is rapidly visible and  easily monitored.  Governments and regulators are  charged with ensuring food safety.  In developed markets, food  regulation in general is highly  developed and compliance  requires strict grower attention.  At the same time, emerging  markets are becoming more aware  of food safety, with a view to both  protecting the domestic food supply  and realizing export potential,  and are stepping up their own  regulatory regimes. Changes in  regulation are not synchronized or  harmonized internationally, which  further increases complexity.