Swiss Biostadt and Syngenta renew efforts to tackle constraints limiting productivity of crops in Africa

Agricultural giants, Swiss Biostadt and Syngenta, have joined forces in seeking fresh options that will boost farmers’ productivity, improve incomes and guarantee food security.

The two firms made a survey of the Nigerian agro-ecological zones with a view to understanding emerging challenges faced by farmers.

Patrick Mirbey, Syngenta’s Head of North and West Africa says, “It became clear to us during the visits to farmers’ fields that pest and diseases are still a major challenge. Another is weeds and low on-farm productivity.”

Across Africa, farmers suffer low productivity due to a plethora of problems that include inadequate availability of inputs such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and poor extension services among others. In some cases where inputs are available, which is usually not the case, misapplication due to poor knowledge frustrates yields and place farmers in poverty. Over the years, Swiss Biostadt and Syngenta have been providing crop improvement solutions by way of improved seeds, pesticides, and the training of farmers on improved agronomic practices.

"No doubt, this strategy has yielded result and we are reviewing how best farmers can access and adopt our new innovations and services,” Mirbey added during a training meeting with Biostadt at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan.

The training, which was attended by delivery specialists, agronomists and other company experts reviewed bottlenecks in the agricultural value chain and also marshaled out plans for a way forward.

"Again what we observed during the survey was the high rate of postharvest losses especially in vegetables,” says Mr. Emmanuel Ajayi, Managing Director, Swiss Biostadt Nigeria.

Available data in Africa show that postharvest losses have remained a big constraint with estimate ranging from 50 percent and above depending on countries and crops. With a porous infrastructure, postharvest losses have been recorded even in famine-prone regions of the continent.

Solutions on the table include the training of farmers on better use and application of pesticides, herbicides, and improved seeds.

"What we are looking at, in postharvest for instance, is to offer farmers seed varieties with longer shelf life such that even without preservation facilities, their crops will not perish on time,” says Ajayi.

"At the end of the day, we want to make the life of the farmer better,” he added.

According to him, the two companies would continue to offer farmers genuine products and services. He also restated that the aim was to make the farmer happier by making agriculture more attractive, improving incomes and livelihoods.