As farmers globally grapple with unprecedented economic, geopolitical, and environmental pressures; the agricultural sector faces a continued contraction. An alarming decrease in active farms worldwide and rising financial distress underscore the urgent need for innovation and technology to ensure a resilient food system.
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Jeff Rowe, Syngenta Group CEO
“Farmers today are navigating one of the most complex periods in modern agriculture, facing pressures that demand urgent action and real solutions,” said Jeff Rowe, CEO of Syngenta Group. “We have a critical window of opportunity to reverse troubling trends by ensuring every farmer, regardless of farm size or technical background, can access the transformative power of AI and digital tools.”
“When we combine AI and digital tools with deep agricultural expertise, we unlock genuine potential to revolutionize farming. But technology alone isn’t enough. Policymakers and businesses must work together to demonstrate how AI can deliver tangible results, simplify farming operations and dispel misconceptions that farmers must be tech experts to use and benefit from these tools. We must also work together to build strong foundations of trust – through peer validation, transparency about data usage and outcomes farmers can see and measure in their own fields.”
A recent research study conducted by IPSOS in partnership with Syngenta highlights a growing digital divide within the agricultural sector. While larger farms rapidly adopt advanced AI and digital tools, smaller and older farmers risk being left behind. The study underscores the urgent need for concerted action to ensure technological advancements. This represents not a challenge, but an invitation to make agricultural technology more widely available and unlock value to benefit all segments of the farming community.
Syngenta’s Cropwise platform is already deploying powerful AI-driven solutions that empower farmers at every scale:
- Cropwise Grower GenAI Chatbot: Already empowering over 2 million farmers across India, this innovative chatbot delivers 24/7 multilingual agronomy support. Smallholders and large operators alike can simply speak or text, or take a picture of an ailing plant, to receive instant analysis, disease diagnosis, and product recommendations with 95% accuracy. This system leverages advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and voice recognition to handle local dialects, offering localized advice that previously required costly field visits or call centers.
- Predictive Intelligence for Pest & Disease Outbreaks (Launching soon in selected markets): This next-generation regional predictive alert system combines real-time pest and disease scouting data with advanced risk modelling and geospatial AI to forecast outbreak likelihood and geographic spread. This enables farmers to take proactive, preventative action before issues reach their fields rather than reacting after problems emerge. These innovations are designed with the aim of simplifying farming operations and making advanced agricultural insights accessible to all.
Syngenta is pioneering digital and AI equity in agriculture, serving as an ecosystem enabler committed to making digital solutions and AI affordable, aspirational, and accessible across all farmer segments. Syngenta is opening its Cropwise digital platform to third-party developers to co-innovate and tackle agriculture’s technology divide, recognizing the importance of responsible data management governed by comprehensive data governance policies. Syngenta does not give access to any individual grower data without explicit owner consent and maintains a robust compliance program aligned with applicable data protection laws and other relevant regulations.
At the World Economic Forum in January 2026, Syngenta is championing collaborative approaches and policy frameworks that support a wider access to agricultural technology and accelerate sustainable farming practices globally. On 21 January 2026, The Financial Times, in collaboration with Syngenta, is convening a roundtable on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. A select group of global business leaders, senior policymakers and leading academics will explore how AI can be applied responsibly across the food value chain and identify the pathways to transform technological potential into lasting, scalable impact.
Link to research study by IPSOS in partnership with Syngenta: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/agricultural-technology/artificial-intelligence/can-ai-be-agricultures-great-equalizer
About Syngenta Group
Syngenta Group is one of the world’s biggest agricultural innovation companies, employing over 56,000 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta Group is focused on developing technologies and farming practices that empower farmers, so they can make the transformation required to feed the world’s population while preserving our planet. Syngenta Group’s bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Guided by its Sustainability Priorities, Syngenta Group supports farmers to grow healthier plants in healthier soil with a higher yield.
Syngenta Group, which is registered in Shanghai, China, and has its management headquarters in Switzerland, draws strength from its four business units: Syngenta Crop Protection, headquartered in Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds, headquartered in the United States; ADAMA®, headquartered in Israel; and Syngenta Group China.
To find out more about how our innovation is empowering farmers around the world, read our articles on the Stories section of our Syngenta Group website.
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