Syngenta opens digital innovation lab in Singapore

17 Apr 2018 2 min read

Miss Tina Lawton, Regional Director, Syngenta Asia Pacific and Miss Cindy Koh, Director, Energy & Chemicals, Singapore Economic Development Board - Photo Credit: Syngenta

On 17 April 2018, Swiss agrichemical firm Syngenta opened in Singapore its first digital innovation lab in Southeast Asia. The lab will develop digital solutions to enable sustainable farming and improve efficiencies for growers in the region. The lab adds to three other such facilities that Syngenta has world-wide – in the United States, United Kingdom and India. Initial innovations by Syngenta’s Digital Innovation Labs have already benefitted 150,000 smallholder farmers.

Located at Unilever’s Level3 co-working space, the Singapore lab will focus on the uniqueness of Asia’s agricultural landscape. Syngenta Asia Pacific Head of commercial excellence David Ryan said the firm sees great potential in digital solutions as they enable the region's smallholder farmers to improve productivity, drive on-farm sustainability and ultimately improve their livelihoods.

For instance, Syngenta has developed a mobile app that allows farmers to easily identify pests and diseases through photos, precision agriculture tools and tailored risk management solutions. Syngenta digital innovation lab Lead Dave Shepherd said partnerships with local and regional innovators are critical to the way Syngenta develops solutions as it enables the firm to embed a culture of experimentation and also allow successful innovations to scale. "As such, Singapore was a natural choice for us as it has an environment that encourages a growing ecosystem of startups and innovations," he added.

Miss Cindy Koh, Director, Energy & Chemicals, EDB said that the lab will strengthen Singapore's position as a leading agrochemical hub in the region, and create exciting multidisciplinary career opportunities for Singaporeans in the chemical industry.