How Advanced Technologies are Cultivating Sustainable Ag

How Advanced Technologies are Cultivating Sustainable Ag

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At first glance, some people might wonder, what are Syngenta and Salesforce doing on the stage together, Right. Very different, very different companies. We have a leading agritech company. We have a pioneering software provider. What's the overlap? That's what we're here to tell you. So, Jeff, I want to start with you.

And we know from the video we just saw, you're a farmer, you're a fifth generation farmer. You're also the CEO of an Agritech business. What do you see as the key technologies that are impacting your work and your industry? Sure. Well, thanks, everyone, for coming. It's a real pleasure for me to be here and talk to you about my main passion in life, which is agriculture. As you saw from the video, my family has

been involved with agriculture for a long time and continue to be involved with agriculture. And if you look back at the history of agriculture, human beings have been farming, you know, roughly about 10,000 years. It depends on who you ask. So a long time and there's been a lot of different innovation cycles during that period of time. But I have to tell you, with the combination of many different technologies, some of which we'll talk about today, I feel like this is a new era of agriculture, a new opportunity.

And some of the trends that I see are really critical that will be enabled by those technologies or how do we make more of what we need to eat? How do we improve food security, which I think is a human right? At the same time, we reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, which is something that I think we all feel very strongly about. And I think the only way that we can do that effectively and in a time period that we need is through cutting edge innovation, which again, is what we're going to talk about today. Speaking of cutting edge innovation that everyone's talking about on everybody's minds and lips here, Suzanne, how is Salesforce using AI to focus on food and agriculture and support those industries? Yeah, thank you and thank you for having me here today, everyone, for coming out. As it's very clear, we are not an agriculture company. It is not our superpower. Our superpower is software and partnerships.

So working with companies like Syngenta, many others in the agriculture space, we think about how do we bring what we know, which is software and agents, which you'll hear a little bit more about, and AI to really solve some of the most important problems to executives like Jeff. And one way that we do that is in what I call sort of making the invisible visible. So, you know, you can't really manage what you can't measure. So one of the things we've done is we've built this really beautiful emissions intelligent platform, which has an energetic interface, a conversational interface where you can get all of your data as it relates to your emissions, water your waste, and really make that data visible and actionable. So it's been an extraordinary development partnership that we've done with many of our customers.

I am Customer zero on this product and it's been really fascinating to see how much both time we can save by automating compliance reporting as an example, but more importantly, being able to sort of action things around emissions, whether it's buildings or equipment that you're using and then being able to get recommendations on how to bring those emissions down. Can you talk a little bit more about that experience of being customer zero? What are some of the things that it's helped you with? So I just last week asked my agent, my emissions agent, what is my worst performing building and, well, first asset, what we're all my climate targets and how I was doing against those. And then I began to dig into the real estate portfolio as a software company, not as manufacturer. You know, 90% of our emissions are in scope. Three but we do have we have buildings that we rent with air travel, We have some things that are kind of within our scope, one control. And it came back to me with a building

in Colorado, which I didn't even know we had, which was an interesting insight, but it was a it's a very small office. We have a lease in the office. It's an old building, Colorado. And I went to college in Colorado, so I was very surprised that that was the answer. And globally. And it turns out that Colorado doesn't have necessarily as clean as a grid as California because of some of its mining history. So I said, well, what can I do about

this? And it kind of gave me some ideas for the building, of course, for renters in it. But we were able to bring that to the other tenants in the building and together go to the landlord and say, you know, if you do these retrofits, not only will it help. Our emissions target, but it will likely save you money. And they were they executed that within

a month. So it's pretty powerful. Jeff, when we're talking about powerful, I want to give people a sense of the scale of the impact that these technologies can have on the agriculture industry. According to being the global agriculture industry employs a quarter of the world's population. It generates more than $8 trillion in annual revenue and occupies and impacts over half of the habitable land on Earth. So if you think about the scale of that, how can it how can technologies like I help you at such a massive level? Yeah.

So I mean, obviously the statistics you just quoted, agriculture and the food industry is quite large. We know that. But one of the things that I don't think people recognize or realize is just how technical it is. And if you think about the problems or questions that farmers have to ask themselves every day, there's weather issues. There's there's issues with the markets,

there's soil questions, there's all kinds of questions that they have to ask themselves. And so the ability to use something like artificial intelligence actually makes a lot of sense. And one of the things that I'm really excited about is in 2025, I think won't be a year, but we're going to see maybe for the first time from the lab all the way through to the field, artificial intelligence having an impact on every step of the way. Now, I'm not suggesting that it's perfect. I'm not suggesting that it's having the

same impact at every step. But I could cite for you examples within Syngenta, where we are now using machine learning artificial intelligence to be able to make a selection on every new product that we introduce. So it's embedded deeply in R&D all the way through to the field where a farmer is using an app that we would give them that allows them to be able to ask questions and use artificial intelligence to be able to get better answers. So it's a very technical area, very broad, and I think at a very important inflection point, you're also dealing with the challenge of needing to scale, right as the world's population is going to keep growing. It's estimated that we're going to need

to increase food production by about 50% by 2050, which is massive. So how are you thinking about how something like I can help you achieve that? Yeah, I mean, if you think about the challenges that we face as a society, we've got to produce more food. We've got to do it in a more responsible way.

There's some pretty daunting statistics. Something like 700 million people will go to bed tonight not knowing if they'll have enough food to eat tomorrow. In a day and age where we have amazing technology, all kinds of advancements, a lot of comfort. The reality is, is a big part of the world is still suffering from food insecurity. And we believe that food is a human right. And we also know that when crops fail, when you have situations where crops fail, you know, you have conflict, prices go up, you have more food instability. And so that's a big part of what we

believe Syngenta's job is, is to help farmers be able to produce more food more reliably, more reliably, with a smaller impact on the on the environment. Susanna, I'd love to have you chime in on that point about the smaller impact on the environment and how are you thinking about how AI and these technologies can help with that peace? Well, I think first and foremost it's getting behind the vision of leaders like Jeff and helping him solve some of his biggest challenges with technology. And if we think about agriculture, it represents something like 30% of global emissions. And so it's in addition to food security, you know, we've got really important challenges that we have to solve, particularly as it relates to regenerative agriculture as an example. And we've been working in fact, just yesterday, I have an incredible meeting.

The government of India, Andhra Pradesh, they've been doing incredible work with smallholder farmers. They've reached so far about 1.5 million. And their vision is to power those farmers through technology, through WhatsApp, and really enable them. We're building them what we're calling a field agent for agriculture and really looking at how do we help these farmers understand things like crop mapping, how to take goods to market disease prevention. And they have really a big vision to get to all 6 million smallholder farmers. There's 600 million globally. So we're really excited to pilot it in

this one location and then take that in a more global scale. And Jeff, as you're thinking about those smallholder farmers, what do you think the biggest challenges or obstacles that you run into with getting them to adopt these type of technologies? Well, one of them I was just in India with our team, and there's a lot of smallholder farmers in India. I was just mentioning the. One of them is just access to information, being able to connect to farmers.

So part of the reason why we're excited about the digital tools that we're now utilizing is it allows us to be able to get to scale with information to farmers. So being able to use digital tools to connect, using remote sensing, to be able to capture information and get that information to farmers is something that wasn't available a few years ago. That's very exciting for them and for us and for the planet. Does it take a lot of training and work to get this technology into their hands? Not so much. It does take connectivity.

You got to have connectivity, which is important, important policy decision. I got a financing, which is also important for farmers to be able to make that connection, to be able to make the investment. But it can be done. I'd love for you to talk a little more, Suzanne, about regenerative agriculture and where you think like the biggest growth, the biggest investment can come from technology in that space. Yeah, You know, I'm learning through all of our partners on regenerative agriculture.

I'm certainly not an expert in that area. But some of the things that I've learned that are really important, we've invested in a company called Immuni, which is doing work on the African continent with smallholder farmers, and they're using satellite technology, later technology, to really help in a predictive way for smallholder farmers as they're thinking about transitioning into regenerative tools. I think there's just a lot of miseducation out there. What we learn over time, what I've learned from them, are things like when you can move to a regenerative structure, you have more, you save water. It's very good storm protection.

Over the years, public health issues tend to be reduced because of the use of, you know, no fertilizers. So I think it's kind of this education process. And as Jeff said, you know, technology is an enabler. And most people around the world today, you know, have phones, have WhatsApp are hungry for information and certainly are hungry for things that improve their livelihood and the health of their children. And Jeff, I would love if you could tell us a bit more about crop wise AI and the work you all are doing and how do you make sure that that is both accessible and scalable? Yes, a crop is a platform I mentioned earlier allows us to be able to connect with farmers.

I'll give you an example of one of the ways that I use it on my farm. So we were able to take images, used satellite images, donate drone imagery, and be able to then analyze whether or not there's a disease or pest pressure that needs to be dealt with. And so that's about connecting multiple technologies and crop wise is really just a platform that allows us to make that connection, gives farmers access to information, use AI tools to be able to answer those questions and be able to make very fast, economically driven decisions. Suzanne, What geographies do you think these technologies are having the biggest impact on? You mentioned India already, so give me give me a different one. Yeah. And Africa also, I think the developing

markets are very important. I think, you know, the United States and more developed markets in Europe have sort of different challenges. And I think what Jeff said around policy is is really create incentive is is really key. But I think has at some level technology democratizes access to information. And so picking one region over another is is tricky because I think each region, you know, has different challenges. And so I am seeing, though in the

developing world a lot more focus on this sort of transition for all the reasons that I mentioned before. And you think it's it's just it's more of an education piece like the scalability of this information and the access to this information has a further impact there. Well, I think said to me, you want to reach people where they are, which is on their phones. Mm hmm. And so, like Jeff is saying, with crop wise, I think people also, you know, they like to be able to have a conversation, whether that voice, whether that's text, whether that's through video. This project I was mentioning, an NGO in India, they do a lot of video education. And so I think sort of it's multi-modal fuel.

Jeff, you mentioned earlier how you've been using this on your own farm. Tell us a little bit more about not just air but some of the broader technologies that you're using that may change the game since you became a farmer? Yeah. So I mean, we've talked a lot about digital, which is, of course, a big part of what we're investing in and what we're doing. But also we have at Syngenta a very big pipeline in seeds, biological crop protection.

And so, you know, we're introducing all kinds of new products to farmers all over the world all the time, which is one of the most exciting parts about my job. I get to go to product launches. I was one and I went to one in Brazil recently. It felt like an iPhone launch because I've never seen so many farmers excited about the new technology called Pineapple and that we were bringing because this is a technology that allows them to continue to farm.

And so again, our ability to bring not just digital. All tools, but also a whole suite of new technologies is really important. That's exciting, and I've never thought about it like an iPhone launch, but that sound sounds quite exciting and brings the energy of the technology that we're talking about. What other challenges do you feel like are running into as a farmer and someone running an agriculture business in this day and age? Well, I mean, obviously there's issues with trade. There's issue is geopolitics. There's there's a lot of challenges that we're facing in agriculture and industry overall. But it comes back to our purpose.

Our purpose is one that I believe in. I'm committed to, I'm confident in. And so I feel that we'll find a way. And we kind of alluded to partnerships little bit before. But Suzanne, I'd love to talk to you a

little bit more about that. I think that somewhere that that Salesforce has shined and really thought about how can you build an ecosystem together. So tell us a little bit more about some of the partnerships you've worked on in the agriculture and food space. Well, we've recently it's just been more nature more broadly. We think of agriculture. We are we think a lot about restoration, we think about conservation, we think about supporting a diverse species of planting. We have an effort that we call a

trillion trees. I was just in the Congress center with a launch of a conservation project in the Congo, which is pretty amazing. They're actually using nature as a tool for peace and in a conflict area, which I think is a really beautiful thing. So we're you know, as we think about how we can get behind with our technology, with our tools, with our sort of collaboration, it's multi-stakeholder, it's nonprofits, it's governments, it's businesses, it's individuals. And so, you know, this example, this trillion tree example is a complete collaboration. You know, sales forces, we happen to have stood it up, but it's been, you know, incredibly powerful to see it flourish, You know, hundreds of companies and, you know, almost every continent in the world. And Jeff, talk to us about some of the

big partners that you have. How are you Think about what we should do for you, by the way. I think that's a great those are great initiatives. I mean, one of the ones that come to mind is that we've talked about before is a project called River Team. That is a project that we are partnering with Nature Conservancy on in Brazil.

It's about taking degraded land, bringing it back into production. And so this is really important for agriculture because that production is needed in the world and it avoids cutting down rainforests. And so our ability to bring this degraded land back into production, make it work, makes it work for society, it's good for farmers. Partnered with the Nature Conservancy has been great for us because it helps us. How do we communicate those things that

farmers need to be aware of as they think about sustainability and in efficiency? And so that's a that's a big project for us have been a big success that we're scaling. Suzanne, we've been talking a lot about nature. We've talked about agriculture, we talk about food, but you guys work on so much more. So what do you think from the work that you might be doing with manufacturing or health care or other industries? What can Jeff learn from that? I think it's a it's a shared learning process. I mean, I learn as much from our

customers, I think, than than they learn from us. I think, you know, one of the things is driving efficiency is critically important. People are worried right now about AI and jobs. I think about the parallels in agriculture where people were worried that the tractor was going to get rid of, you know, a lot of farm workers. And turns out that didn't happen. And I think we're this kind of early days of looking at, you know, what is it? What is that? What is this technology transformation going to mean to people, to our customers, to people, you know, in the field as they get information on their phone and can and adapt and act more quickly? But, you know, I think more than anything, it's like your last question around partnerships. And I think what we've really learned is like, none of us can do any of this alone.

We need to stand together. We need to support the growth of our communities, whether it's in manufacturing, whether it's in agriculture. And we need to think about jobs of the future together. And that that that's the only real way forward. And that's one thing I really like about West is its multistakeholder approach. Absolutely. Jeff, do you think that these technologies are helping attract more people to the career, the industry of farming? How are you how are you thinking about how this impacts what it means to to to bring the talent in that you need? Yeah, it's a great question.

I think it I don't if it's bringing more people into farming, I think it's bringing more people into agriculture. So we are at Syngenta, we are recruiting people from many different disciplines. In fact, one of the things I really enjoy doing is recruiting people into agriculture who have never been on a farm, who have never been associated with agriculture because we are solving against some of the world's biggest challenges. Some of society's biggest challenges. I think one of the best ways to do that is to have diverse thinking in diverse backgrounds.

And so technology, what it allows you to do is that you can hire somebody who's, you know, great model or a great mathematician, and you could say, here's your here's your challenge. And it's specific. And so that has been, I think, kind of revolutionary for us as an employer in agriculture to be able to go out and and access different people, different backgrounds. And it's been really good for agriculture. It's been really good for the company because we get access to better, not better, different, diverse minds.

You mentioned to me beforehand that your your son is studying agriculture, maybe maybe a sixth generation farmer. We'll see. Yeah. How do you think that technologies like what we're talking about are going to impact the way the key works in agriculture? Well, look, I mean, one of the problems that we have in agriculture in general is we don't have enough farmers. We don't have enough access to labor. And so automation, digital tools, new technology, precision agriculture, all of these things allow you to farm more efficiently. And it also requires you to have a little bit different skill set. So it used to be a lot of farmers in the

world were were kind of mechanics, basically, because they could fix tractors, they could fix things. Now it's much more about how do you leverage data. And so you mentioned earlier about tractors. You know, one of the things that I like to say I said in the video is data is the new tractor. And what I mean by that is data is creating efficiencies now in agriculture, just like tractors create efficiencies in agriculture when they when they came in. So it's a different time, it's different skill set, but I think it's actually very exciting.

I think we're all conscious by being here at Davos about the power of these big global convenings to get things in the news and to get attention. And I know one of the big things that one of the takeaways from last year was that we started to talk a little bit more about transforming the agrifood system. And I think that's going to be an even bigger theme in Brazil this year for COP 30. So, Suzanne, how do you think that we keep this as a frontline focus? And how do we how do we keep bringing in this, this digitization, the technology? Keep that conversation. First and foremost, I cop and other big

convenings where it can make a difference. Yeah, it's a great question. I'm really excited to do COP in Brazil. There is incredible leadership there, especially from the Minister of the Environment, and I'm incredibly impressed by there's a lot of technology innovation. We have an incredible leader there who's

been working very closely with the public sector. So I mean, my bias is always just do the work and then let it speak for itself. So we've been working with the government number of different states in Brazil to really look at how do we bring this kind of agent force vision that we have to them and their conservation goals. So we're just kind of quietly humming along, building some things with the government of Brazil, and then we hope to showcase that at COP, but it's really them showcasing it for themselves and then can hopefully be picked up from other governments around the world. Jeff, If there's one big learning that you want people to take away from the audience here about, I didn't I didn't know this about agriculture. I didn't know it's about farming, especially as it relates to technology. What's that one takeaway you'd want them

to leave today with that? Agriculture is more technical than they probably realize. It's more complicated than you realize. One quote I've heard said, and I repeat a lot, is people have never cared more about where their food comes from. Food comes from that, no less about how it's produced than right now, because society has moved away from farming. There's fewer farmers. It's just natural that you get further away from the details. But I think it is important for influential, influential people like our gathered here, to recognize how important agriculture is, how innovation and technology is critical.

There is a little bit of a feeling that if we just went back to agriculture was 100 years ago, all of our problems would be solved. Trust me, my family was farming 100 years ago. That is not what you want. It's it's inefficient.

It's not good for the environment. Food security would go down. So innovation is a good thing in agriculture. Innovation is a good thing. In food production. We have to be science driven, science led.

And I think if we do that and we continue to embrace innovation, the future is very bright. Jeff and Suzanne, thank you both so much. Thank you. Thank you.

2025-01-23 18:24

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