b'into that yieldwater, fertilizers, pesti-cides. He frames it as a ratio of income to resources. You can improve that ratio by lowering the bottom or increasing the top. Not just more kilos per hectare, but more value per kilo and fewer inputs.Fits team has been working for more than a decade to build differentiation into varieties, allowing farmers to earn more from the same harvest. Its about increas-ing the added value, he explains. The vari-ety itself can become a lever for revenue as well as resource efficiency.No crop illustrates the intertwining of yield and sustainability more vividly than rice. R recalls that when the com-pany began breeding hybrid rice in the late 1980s, nobody was talking about climate change. Yet its early focusdeveloping varieties suited to direct seeding rather than transplantingnow aligns perfectly with climate goals.Those first hybrids were bred for lodging, disease, and herbicide tolerance, says R. What we created decades ago has become the foundation for more sustainableA female Kenyan farmer holding an Ansal tomato. Photo: Bayerrice systems today.The result is SmartRice, RiceTecs flagship hybrid portfolio designed for DSR. These hybrids deliver above-aver-age marketable yields using significantly less water, labour, and land than conven-tional transplanting. They maintain grain quality and milling performance and tol-erate stress better under resource-efficient regimes. Yield and sustainability are not competing goals, R emphasizes. Theyre interconnected.RiceTecs breeding and agronomic model is now helping farmers across Asia to manage water scarcity, labour costs, and methane emissions simultaneously. Were redefining what high-performance rice farming looks like, R says. Its not just about tonnes per hectare; its about tonnes per unit of water and per unit of carbon.At Syngenta, the same logic drives programs beyond rice. Were balanc-ing yield goals with environmental stew-ardship, explains Allerding. Through regenerative-agriculture commitments and innovations like X-TERRA hybrid wheat, were supporting practices that improve soil health, reduce inputs, and enhance biodi- A coated rice seed with sprout. Photo: Ricetecversity.NOVEMBER 2025|SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 19'