Syngenta, a global leader in agricultural innovation, is set to address some of the most pressing challenges in the agricultural sector at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2026. The company is championing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital tools to empower farmers, particularly smallholders, and ensure equitable access to technology.
The agricultural sector is currently facing a contraction, with a decrease in the number of active farms worldwide and rising financial distress among farmers. These challenges are exacerbated by unprecedented economic, geopolitical, and environmental pressures. Syngenta believes that AI and digital tools can unlock unprecedented opportunities to strengthen farms and secure food security.
A recent study conducted by IPSOS in partnership with Syngenta highlights a growing digital divide within the agricultural sector. While larger farms are rapidly adopting advanced AI and digital tools, smaller and older farmers risk being left behind. Syngenta is committed to bridging this gap and making agricultural technology more widely available.
Syngenta’s Cropwise platform is already deploying powerful AI-driven solutions. The Cropwise Grower GenAI Chatbot, for instance, is empowering over 2 million farmers across India by providing 24/7 multilingual agronomy support. Farmers 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.
The company is also set to launch a next-generation regional predictive alert system that combines real-time pest and disease scouting data with advanced risk modeling and geospatial AI to forecast outbreak likelihood and geographic spread. This will enable farmers to take proactive, preventative action before issues reach their fields.
Jeff Rowe, CEO of Syngenta Group, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “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.”
Syngenta is not only providing these tools but also advocating for collaborative approaches and policy frameworks that support wider access to agricultural technology. At the World Economic Forum, Syngenta, in collaboration with The Financial Times, will convene a roundtable to explore how AI can be applied responsibly across the food value chain and identify pathways to transform technological potential into lasting, scalable impact.
Syngenta Group, with its four business units – Syngenta Crop Protection, Syngenta Seeds, ADAMA®, and Syngenta Group China, is committed to developing technologies and farming practices that empower farmers. The company’s bold scientific discoveries aim to deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before.