New IPSOS research reveals a growing technology access gap between large and small farms.

AI can be the great equalizer in agriculture – says Syngenta’s Chief Information & Digital Officer.

With the Open Platform, developers can bring their innovations to over 70 million hectares covered by Cropwise, making digital agriculture more accessible, trusted, and inclusive for farmers globally.

BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Syngenta, a global leader in agricultural innovation, today announced it is opening CROPWISE™, an AI-powered platform for farmers, to third-party developers worldwide.

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Building on the success of Cropwise — which in just five years has transformed digital farm management and now supports over 70 million hectares of farmland across more than 30 countries — the launch of the Cropwise Open Platform is designed to accelerate the digital transformation of agriculture and remove one of the biggest barriers to innovation: access.

By opening our trusted digital foundation to the global developer community, we are enabling innovators to integrate advanced agronomic models into new tools and applications — helping farmers benefit from smarter, connected agricultural technologies.

New research from IPSOS, conducted in partnership with Syngenta, underscores the urgency of this effort. The study found that the digital divide in farming is widening, with larger farms racing ahead in the adoption of AI and digital tools while smaller farmers risk being left behind. It also revealed that while younger farmers are embracing technology, many older farmers view AI as complex or inaccessible — often unaware that they are already using it through tools like drones or imagery systems. Above all, trust, data control, and proof of local results emerged as the most powerful drivers of adoption.

“The agriculture sector stands at a tipping point. Climate pressures, global market volatility, and the urgent need to promote sustainable farming practices mean that technology adoption can no longer be optional,” said Feroz Sheikh, Syngenta’s Chief Information and Digital Officer.

“The Cropwise Open Platform represents a significant step forward in bridging the inequity that exists within the adoption of agricultural technology. By creating an open ecosystem that combines our deep agricultural expertise with cutting-edge digital capabilities, we’re empowering third-party developers to build solutions on top of Cropwise. Farmers can choose the apps that best support their needs — without sacrificing control over their data.”

Through its robust integration capabilities and access to Syngenta’s digital agriculture services, Cropwise Open Platform enables everyone in the ecosystem to develop data-driven applications that tackle real-world farming challenges. Farmers remain in control of their data, while tapping into an ecosystem of innovations and integrations built around the Cropwise platform. For the developer community, the Open Platform offers an opportunity to leverage Syngenta’s AI and machine learning capabilities and aggregated agronomic insights, to offer their solutions at an unprecedented scale.

“AI can be the great equalizer in agriculture — but only if it’s accessible, affordable, and trusted,” Sheikh added. “By opening Cropwise developer capabilities, we hope to create a network with farmers at the center, and ensure that digital innovation benefits every farmer, not just those with the biggest fields or budgets.”

Syngenta does not give access to any individual grower data without the consent of the owner, in accordance with applicable law.

For further information about our research with IPSOS, please refer to this article from Feroz Sheikh including a link to the full report.

About Cropwise

Launched in 2020, CROPWISE™ is Syngenta's flagship digital platform that has revolutionized farm management by offering integrated solutions and data-driven tools across the agricultural value chain. The platform, which currently monitors over 70 million hectares in more than 30 countries globally, features powerful solutions including Cropwise Operations, Seed Selector, and Spray Assist. These tools harness AI and comprehensive agronomic data to deliver tailored recommendations for pest management, crop monitoring, and product selection. Through connected data and flexible, customized tools, Cropwise helps agricultural professionals streamline operations, enhance decision-making, improve yields, and implement sustainable farming practices.

About Syngenta

Syngenta is a global leader in agricultural innovation with a presence in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is focused on developing technologies and farming practices that empower farmers, so they can make the transformation required to feed the world’s population while preserving our planet. Its bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Guided by its Sustainability Priorities, Syngenta is developing new technologies and solutions that support farmers to grow healthier plants in healthier soil with a higher yield. Syngenta Crop Protection is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland; Syngenta Seeds is headquartered in the United States. Read our stories and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram & X.

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as ‘expect’, ‘would’, ‘will’, ‘potential’, ‘plans’, ‘prospects’, ‘estimated’, ‘aiming’, ‘on track’ and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. For Syngenta, such risks and uncertainties include risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, compliance and remediation, intellectual property rights, implementation of organizational changes, impairment of intangible assets, consumer perceptions of genetically modified crops and organisms or crop protection chemicals, climatic variations, fluctuations in exchange rates and/or commodity prices, single source supply arrangements, political uncertainty, natural disasters, and breaches of data security or other disruptions of information technology. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors.

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Source: Syngenta