Our technologies deliver many benefits. But the  rate of uptake depends on sharing knowledge  so that farmers understand the benefits and use  the technology correctly.  To support more efficient use of basic natural  resources, we are developing sustainable  technologies that protect the long-term economic  and environmental viability of farming. Extension  services and training through retailers enable  farmers to see the benefits of these technologies.  They also need to be able to afford them, through  access to credit and risk-management  mechanisms such as insurance for weather- related crop losses. In many countries, tomorrow’s farmers need  better, more relevant education. One of  the challenges of supplying global markets is  to enable growers to develop the knowledge  needed to run a profitable, productive and  quality-oriented farm. Agricultural extension  services are crucial to sharing such knowledge,  but are lacking in many countries today.  Syngenta plays a part in closing this knowledge  gap as well as training farmers to use its  products safely and efficiently. From the earliest phases of our research  processes we include measures for efficacy,  economic benefit, and human and environmental  safety. For every crop protection product that  reaches the farmer’s field, almost 100,000  3  are  tested but discarded because they do not meet  efficacy or safety standards. We are developing new metrics that assess the  full impact of products and technologies, so that  we can ensure they deliver benefit without harm.  This means viewing farming practices holistically,  rather than focusing narrowly on the properties  of a single product, to assess their overall  resource efficiency.  Farming makes extensive use of natural  resources. It uses 40 percent  1  of the world’s  land and 70 percent  2  of its fresh water  withdrawal. With both in increasingly high  demand, it must become more resource  efficient. Agriculture relies on biodiversity for  crop pollination, healthy soils and water, and air  purification. So farmers’ needs are closely linked  to the protection of biodiversity and the  avoidance of further expansion. As crops are traded around the world, so  are the inherent natural resources that produced  them: energy, soil and water. With increasing  natural resource constraints, trade is the first  and most efficient mechanism for sharing  natural resources as well as simply meeting  food demand.  1  FAOSTAT  faostat.fao.org  2  FAO AQUASTAT, 2005, World  Resource and Earthscan “Water  for food, water for life” Institute 3  CropLife International www.croplife.org With the new rice  protocol, I can  control weeds much  better. And I can increase  my yield and still look after  the environment.  Rice grower  Dihombo, Tanzania More online www.syngenta.com/ar2011 Sustainable  agriculture  in Tanzania RamadhaniRajabuUpole  Reducing agriculture’s  environmental footprint Challenge s  and our contri b ution Sharing knowledge 11 Syngenta Annual Review 2011