Basel, Switzerland
October 14, 2025

• Agriculture emerging as critical frontier in climate action, featuring prominently at COP30 in Brazil
• Five agricultural solutions standing out in tackling climate challenges and food security

As the world prepares for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, agriculture is increasingly emerging as a crucial frontier in the global fight against climate change. Agriculture contributes 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251013660021/en/
 

A renatured pasture in the Cerrado region in Brazil. Source: Syngenta
 

"We are at a pivotal moment, where agriculture not only feeds the world but also must unleash its potential to become a solution to climate change”, says Petra Laux, Chief Sustainability Officer of Syngenta Group. “Producing more food and protecting the environment can be achieved together, but we must make every existing agricultural acre count. Expanding into more land would drive greenhouse gas emissions way beyond our global goals as almost 40% of Earth’s landmass is already used for food production*. Technology and innovation hold the key to closing the productivity gap.”

Syngenta is a key actor in the food systems sector seeking to facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon world. According to the global leader in AgTech there are five innovative solutions to ensure that agriculture is part of the climate solution, contributing to global food security for a world of up to 10 billion people by 2050:

1. Revitalizing degraded land through innovative soil restoration techniques and sustainable farming practices.
2. Advancing climate-resilient crop varieties and breeding methods that allow crops to thrive in challenging conditions — requiring less water, resisting pests and diseases naturally, and maintaining yields despite climate stress.
3. Increasing productivity with innovation, technology and increasingly nature-based products, such as biologicals, including beneficial microorganisms and plant extracts.
4. Scaling precision agriculture by applying crop protection products selectively and only where needed to safeguard harvests.
5. Promoting regenerative practices, including cover crops, minimal tillage, and organic matter management to build soil health, increase carbon sequestration, and improve yields.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is preparing a new roadmap report to be unveiled at COP30. Innovations will play an important role in achieving its objectives. A study by Deloitte from November 2024** pointed out that 50% of the needed improvement in food supply, and 40% of the additional calories required to feed the world, must be achieved through accelerated innovation, technology, and productivity improvements. Other contributing factors include reducing emissions; protecting and restoring natural capital (21%); improving natural capital (19%); enhancing circularity and guiding consumer choice (6%); and promoting dietary shifts (4%).

The current stagnation of global agricultural productivity (GAP) was highlighted in Virginia Tech’s report***, issued in September 2025, showing that productivity grew at just 0.76% globally in 2025, all while the demand for agricultural products is expected to grow over 1% annually until 2031. To reach sustainable production levels that can feed the planet, productivity growth must accelerate to an average of 2% per year between 2024–2050.

As part of Syngenta’s Sustainability Priorities, launched in 2024, the company aims to enable regenerative agriculture across millions of hectares of land across the globe. In Brazil, through the REVERTE® program, the company targets the recovery of 1 million hectares of degraded land. A significant portion of the work is in the Cerrado biome where Syngenta works together with The Nature Conservancy. The goal of the initiative is to make the restoration of degraded land the profitable option sought by farmers in Brazil when expanding their production, instead of clearing native vegetation.

Syngenta recently launched a similar restoration project in Paraguay to support producers in Chaco and the Eastern region in adopting regenerative practices.

At COP30, on 11 November 2025, Syngenta will partner with The Economist to host a senior expert panel discussion, “Farming for the Future: Boosting Agricultural Productivity While Protecting the Planet.” The session will explore land restoration, soil health, financing, and policy solutions to make sustainable farming economically viable and scalable for farmers of all sizes. Panelists include André Savino, President of Syngenta Crop Protection in Brazil; Marcio Sztutman, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil; Dr. Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of the Environment of Brazil; Teresa Cristina Vendramini, agricultural producer, agribusiness leader, and former President of the Brazilian Rural Society, and Pedro Barros Barreto Fernandes, Partner and Director of Agribusiness, Itaú Bank.