The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture aims to increase opportunities and choice for poor rural communities in the semi-arid areas to improve their livelihoods through sustainable innovation in agriculture.

The Foundation is based in Basel, Switzerland, with 5 permanent employees. The Foundation supports projects, research, training and information activities in Mali, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Cameroon. It also supports work to encourage public–private partnerships and the work of the Consultative Group on International Research. 

The Foundation is an independent legal entity registered as a charity under Swiss law. 

enterprise and employment

Business in Africa, including the SME sector, is affected by lack of predictability, red tape, poor access to both finance to start  - or grow  - their operations and to business skills training. This is particularly acute in rural areas, where isolation, absence of adequate transport and communications infrastructure further build barriers to trade. 

The Foundation is participating in relevant international fora to discuss and influence issues of relevance to rural private sector development.

We believe that improving agriculture in Africa is the best way for poor people to escape from poverty. There are many challenges - climate, insufficient infrastructure, degraded soils, diseases and pests, HIV/AIDS, poor policies and weak markets.

However, it is the weaknesses of the indigenous private sector that requires most urgent attention and SMEs in particular. There is no shortage of talent and opportunities, but we think that the business sector could help develop SMEs in a ‘win win ‘ scenario, particularly looking at small/large-scale linkages, and we have started to work with others towards this goal.

human development

Building the capacity of African institutions in the public and private sector must be a priority. The Syngenta Foundation is developing with national and international partners new provision for business skills training. This will build greater recognition that the private sector is a key driver for rural economic growth, and thus an important contributor to improvement of livelihoods.