Syngenta Group launched

Syngenta Group, which describes itself as “a new global leader in agricultural science and innovation”, was formally launched on 18 June. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, it combines Syngenta itself, Israel’s Adama and the agricultural businesses of Sinochem, based in China.

The new entity has 15 production sites and 100 R&D sites, with 48,000 employees in more than 100 countries, turning over $23 billion in 2019. Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta, will remain as CEO of the group, with former Adama CEO Chen Lichtenstein as CFO. The group has four business units:

* Syngenta Crop Protection, led by Jon Parr and based in Basel

* Syngenta Seeds, led by Jeff Rowe in Chicago

* Adama, led by Ignacio Dominguez and based in Airport City, Israel *

Syngenta Group China, led by Hengde Qin in Shanghai

The group is shortly to announce its first major initiative post-launch, in its new Good Growth Plan. This will “address the shifting challenges faced by farmers around the world and society’s changing expectations of agricultural technology and sustainability”, it said.