Data is the new tractor for agriculture: Jeff Rowe, CEO, Syngenta Group
Global agri-tech company Syngenta's new global CEO Jeff Rowe talks about why India is a key market, R&D investments, competitive strategy and more
Jeff Rowe, CEO, Syngenta Group; Image: Madhu KapparathJeff Rowe spent much of his childhood around farmlands in Princeton, Illinois. One morning, while working on the farm at the age of 14 and moving bales of hay, the forklift malfunctioned and bent. Overwhelmed by the unexpected problem, Rowe called his father for guidance. His father's response was straightforward and uncompromising: “Fix it.” “You couldn’t Google it back then. You just had to figure it out,” recalls Rowe. It was his experience on the farm that taught him this ‘figure it out’ mentality. “Looking back, it was a blessing to have those opportunities, because I didn’t always fix it right, but I always learnt something from it,” he remarks.
Rowe has been working with Switzerland-based Syngenta, a global agricultural technology company for eight years, and became its global CEO in January 2024. Syngenta clocked in sales of $19,196 million in FY23 and has two main businesses—crop protection products and high-technology seeds. The company is present in India since 2000, and is one of the market leaders, particular in the crop protection business.
Rowe intends to leverage his farm experiences to guide his decision-making, focusing on practical and pragmatic solutions. “The way I think about running a business, in some ways, is a little bit like the way a farmer thinks about running a business too,” he says.
Rowe speaks to Forbes India during his first visit to the country as global CEO, about why India is a key market for Syngeta, global industry challenges and more. Edited excerpts:
Q. How key is India as a market for Syngenta?
It is definitely one of our top 10 markets in the world. With the kind of growth and maturity the market is seeing, we feel that India is going to be even more relevant 15 years from now. Earlier, when I was talking to farmers, I was telling them that we have thousands of scientists who have never been to India, but are always thinking about problems that Indian farmers are dealing with in order to bring new solutions for them.
Q. How challenging is it to get Indian farmers to use Syngenta’s highly innovative products?
This is not just limited to Indian farmers. There are lots of farmers around the world who are a bit more traditional in the way they think. The reason is that when farmers make decisions, if they make a mistake, it not only affects their income that year, but they are also trying to protect their family asset. So you can imagine the amount of social pressure they need to deal with.
I do understand that for farmers relying on data and using digital connections can be scary, and part of our job is to make it simple, more accessible and relevant. However, we are seeing that relying on data is helping farmers make relevant decisions. And, there’s a transformation that we are seeing, as younger farmers, who are born in the digital age, are joining operations. They are far more open to the idea of using tools and data.
Q. What kind of challenges is the global agri industry facing?
Farmer economics are depressed, so global commodity prices have come down significantly since all-time highs in 2022. Farmer incomes in the US, for instance, is down over a two-year period, the most it’s ever gone down in the history of US agriculture. That gives you a sense of how steep the decline is. We bring innovation to farmers, create new value for them. So, when farmers aren’t doing well, it’s more difficult for us, puts more pressure on us as an organisation.
Second, there’s also an oversupply situation that has developed in our industry. There have been a lot of new manufacturing capacities, particularly in crop protection, over the last few years, which is putting a lot of pricing pressure in the market. These are natural corrections, and we’re prepared to get through it and come out stronger.
Q. In terms of R&D, what are some areas where there's a lot more investment in innovation?
We are an extremely innovation-led company. For R&D, we are focussing on areas such as genetics, new active ingredients, biotechnology. among many others. We are also doubling our focus to grow our digital tools and moving very aggressively into areas like artificial intelligence [AI]. We are using very sophisticated data analytics skills to be able to find and develop new molecules. On the chemistry side, we use analytics AI to develop new varieties, and on the genetics and seed side we’re using it to help us be more efficient as we bring new biotech products to the market.
I strongly feel that data is the new tractor. When tractors were first introduced on farms, efficiency went up dramatically. That's the way we view data at Syngenta… it becomes the new tractor for agriculture, to help drive efficiency for farmers.
A fill & pack unit of Syngenta UK at its Grangemouth Manufacturing Centre in Scotland; A Syngenta digital weather app that informs grower when best to harvest his wheat; Scientist at a Syngenta greenhouse; Syngenta India's agri-drone sprays its advanced crop protection solution: IncipioQ. When evaluating potential acquisitions, what key considerations should be taken into account?
We do a lot of acquisitions. We love to see innovation that is solving real problems, but with a practical aspect. We might not get it right always, but when we invest in an agri-tech startup, we are not investing only because we want a return on investment, but more importantly, we want to see it as an opportunity to create real value for farmers.
I think it is very important to partner outside the company, and I certainly don’t subscribe to the principle that everything has to be invented within the company. But some agri-tech startups don’t really have any value, and so are not going to survive.
Q. Can you describe your leadership style? And how has it influenced your team's performance and decision-making processes?
I've always believed very strongly in empowering employees. Oftentimes, the most important decision that I make is the hiring decision; who I put into a particular role or who I move out of a particular role. The world is changing so fast, and our industry is extremely localised, so it would be very tough for me to take decisions, for instance, for India. Hence, once you get the right people in those roles, then you allow them to make as many decisions as possible.
I feel that a key to being an effective leader is the ability to connect with people. Oftentimes, I try to start with more of an approach of, ‘let me understand where the other person’s coming from, and meet them halfway’. That helps, as opposed to stating what you want, as an order.
Additionally, I strongly believe in this term I read in a book somewhere: ‘Confidently curious’. It means, that you have a lot of confidence in your position, but you are always looking for a better solution. I think this is very pertinent when it comes to agriculture.
Q. Reflecting on your experiences, are there particular decisions you would approach differently if given the chance?
Recently, around 2022, when the market was going up, I could have reacted quicker to the downturn in the market. But it’s very difficult to do that even after multiple years of having been in the industry. So yes, there are lots of examples where I could have acted sooner, more aggressively.
Going back to my point earlier about being confidently curious, I think it isn’t so much about being right; it’s really important that you have the humility to judge a situation and look at it in a very honest way, and then try to figure out what could be done better next time.
Q. What are some areas where Syngenta could improve strategy?
I’d like to see us move faster and make faster decisions, especially when it comes to our product pipeline. I also think we need to be a bit more cost-conscious, and become more efficient so that we can bring down our costs and pass that benefit on to the customer. This hasn’t been our strength in the past, but we are trying to develop that in this market.
Q. How do you envision the future of Syngenta?
My vision is to turn Syngenta into the best innovation machine in agriculture, bring the world’s best innovation to farmers, fast and as efficiently as possible. It’s an easy thing to say, but it’s very difficult to do when you think about the regulatory environment that we’re in, the complexity of science, competition, costs, etc.
One of the most important things that we need as a society is a healthy, safe and sustainable food system. So as a company, we should be agile enough to adjust to the short-term market conditions, which will go up and down, but stay true to the long-term focus of world’s best and safest innovation in agriculture.
