Editor’s note: This is the second article of a five-part series. Upcoming Business editions will include responses from Kaua‘i seed companies Dow and BASF. Part one covered Pioneer Hi-Bred. Part five will be an overview of the local industry with
Editor’s note: This is the second article of a five-part series. Upcoming Business editions will include responses from Kaua‘i seed companies Dow and BASF. Part one covered Pioneer Hi-Bred. Part five will be an overview of the local industry with Hawai‘i Crop Improvement Association.
KEKAHA — In an attempt to better understand how seed farmers exist in our community, The Garden Island asked local companies’ representatives a series of basic questions.
The following information has been provided by Laurie Goodwin, Hawai‘i state affairs manager for Syngenta in Kekaha:
Q: What does your company do?
A: Syngenta conducts research and development of corn and soybeans. Research done here on Kaua‘i plays a critical role in helping growers increase overall crop productivity with innovative seeds and products designed to deliver more yield potential from existing agricultural land.
The Syngenta Kekaha facility plays a critical role in harnessing the power of plants to meet global challenges for food, fiber and fuel. The research we are doing here in Hawai‘i is helping growers increase their crop productivity to deliver more yield potential from existing agricultural land.
Q: How long has your company has been on island, and why did your company chose Kaua‘i for its operations?
A: Syngenta Hawai‘i has been operating on Kaua‘i for over 40 years. The company began its operations in Waimea, offering a winter growing season for plant breeders. After Hurricane Iniki, the station was relocated to the current site in Kekaha.
The land and water availability make Kaua‘i an ideal location for year-round production of corn and soybeans, which are our two primary research crops. We are able to plant and harvest crops 365 days a year on Kaua‘i, which allows us to bring products to market more quickly for our customers.
Q: How many acres does Syngenta farm on Kaua‘i?
A: We lease almost 3,000 acres but have a much smaller amount of land under cultivation annually.
Q: What parts of the island do your fields occupy?
A: We occupy several farms on the west side of Kaua‘i and also one located on the east side of the island.
Q: Whose land do you occupy?
A: We lease land from several landlords on Kaua‘i, including the state of Hawai‘i.
Q: How many employees do you have and how are they comprised?
A: We have over 175 employees here on Kaua‘i and over 300 statewide. We employ individuals with a broad range of educational backgrounds and work experience, and have job opportunities not only for skilled field technicians but also for support functions like finance and administration.
Q: What are the top three contributions your company has made to this island?
A: Our employees both live and work on West Kaua‘i and we believe in supporting their volunteer efforts. Whether that means hosting a plate lunch fundraiser that benefits a specific non-profit or providing sweet corn to organizations for them to sell as a fundraiser, Syngenta Hawai‘i knows the value of investing in our employees and the communities in which we operate.
Although financial contributions are important, we also know the value of sweat equity. To the best of our ability we try to team our financial contributions with employee volunteer efforts.
We participate annually in the Relay for Life, have built houses with Habitat for Humanity and have worked with the Mana bird sanctuary to help transplant native species of plants along the banks of the wetland ponds.
Syngenta Hawai‘i believes in providing opportunities for employee growth. Whether our employees are pursuing their PhD, completing an undergraduate degree or attaining a certificate from the Kaua‘i Community College plant biosciences program, we are committed to enabling their success. We offer tuition reimbursement and work with them individually to facilitate their continued education.
Syngenta Hawaii’s economic impact to the island of Kauai is significant. Our employees live and spend their earnings at local Kaua‘i businesses. Syngenta is also a big supporter of local vendors from crop input purchases through hotel stays and car rentals. On the whole, the seed industry has been able to provide some stability to Kaua‘i businesses during uncertain economic times.
Q: What contribution(s) has your company made to the agricultural industry?
A: Syngenta Hawai‘i employees know that their work matters. Whether you are in the field or in a support position at our Kekaha location, you are playing a critical role in harnessing the power of plants to meet the global challenges for food, fiber and fuel by helping our customers increase their crop productivity to deliver more yield potential from existing agricultural land.
Our company provides our employees with the ability to define processes and innovate, and to be a part of a company providing solutions to help the world address the global challenge of ensuring food security.
Q: Who are your three biggest customers?
A: With more than 26,000 employees in over 90 countries, Syngenta has customers all over the world.
Q: Some residents say one of the issues they have with seed companies is the broad chemical spraying of herbicides and pesticides. What is your response to this?
A: Modern pesticides are specifically designed to have three characteristics: They must be safe, except to their intended targets; they must be specific to those targets; and they must be short-lived, disappearing or breaking down harmlessly after achieving their aim.
They are only approved for use after exhaustive testing and regulatory evaluation, according to these criteria by independent experts. In fact, it is estimated that between 35 percent and 40 percent of all crops would be lost to insects, weeds and disease without appropriate pesticide use.
Q: What do you say to those who are anti GMO?
A: Biotech or genetically modified crops are not new. The conventional crossbreeding technique farmers have used for thousands of years to develop new hybrid plants is a type of genetic modification. The process improves the genes of plants to make them more useful for humans.
Agricultural biotech is a complex issue about our food. Some of the resistance stems from inaccurate or incomplete information. Some comes from individuals’ personal beliefs about how things ought to be.
Biotech is widely supported by farmers around the world, as well as numerous agricultural councils, government agencies, universities and international scientific and medical organizations.
Q: Does your company do public tours and if so, how should a person go about setting that up? And who at your company can someone contact if they have an issue or complaint?
A: We routinely do scheduled tours for school groups, senior groups and our customers visiting from the Mainland.
• Contact Syngenta Kekaha at 337-1408. Visit www.sygenta.com for more information.
