Making Farmlands Work for You

Synergy Seeds is passionate about delivering solutions that help keep growers’ farms profitable while backing them with knowledge and experience.

By Brian Mhango • Nov. 2, 2022

At Synergy Seeds, we strive to be a company like no other. We are proud of our strategic partnerships with world-class organisations through which we source leading technologies and genetics. We are passionate about delivering solutions that help keep our growers’ farms profitable while backing them with knowledge and experience. The Zambian agriculture industry has undergone significant change as consolidation continues with large multinationals, transforming the industry in the process. We are proud to play in this competitive space as a wholly owned local Zambian seed business.

Synergy Seeds entered the Zambian seed space in June 2021, having bought the Syngenta field crop seed business comprising the maize and soya bean genetics, which the MRI brand previously owned from 1995 to 2013. And we are happy to progress the momentum created by these two (2) previous owners.

Synergy Seeds is a leading R&D, breeding, production, distribution and marketing seed company offering our growers a broad spectrum of seed products. We have the right seed for local and export markets and carry the newest maise hybrids, wheat and soya bean varieties to keep farmers on top of the yield curve. Our sales agronomists are experts with valuable experience managing the crop. We share our knowledge and expertise with our farmers to help them make the best decision to get the most out of every variety we sell.

Our team will consider several factors when helping farmers select the seed:

• Yield potential

• Disease tolerance

• Maturity

• Fertility program

• Performance in growing conditions similar to your fields

• Height, lodging, standability, protein, crop heat units, pest & drought tolerance, where applicable

Our advanced genetics and traits allow us to create and offer customised seed solutions for your farm.

We have strong connections to local markets where, along with investment in innovation and infrastructure, we continue to grow our presence. We succeed in our markets by bringing distinct seed choices that deliver performance and value. By design, our success is deeply rooted in the success of our farmers; the two are intertwined and grow together. We are Synergy Seeds by Design, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Today we serve customers with two distinct portfolios:

• Seed, our flagship portfolio comprises maize hybrids, soya beans, wheat and vegetable seed solutions delivering value for cultivation for our growers

• Crop Protection – we provide crop input solutions to Zambian farmers through the Syngenta brand of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

As an innovative agricultural business, we strive for the highest level of professionalism in everything we do. This is an essential prerequisite in offering our growers premium solutions that add value to their farming businesses. We realise the success of Synergy Seeds is a direct result of each grower supporting us. Employees share in the responsibility for the ongoing growth and success of the company by providing their personal best. Synergy Seeds is characterised by the dynamism of a committed local privately-held organisation that challenges staff to take risks, view roadblocks as opportunities, explore new ideas, and execute with passion. Encouraging staff to demonstrate out-of-the-box initiative and working together to realise goals sets Synergy Seeds apart.

We take pride in the markets in which we operate and are constantly engaged with our communities to ensure we are not only doing business but are also staying relevant by supporting initiatives that help enhance their livelihoods, be it culture or sport. Additionally, our teams are on the ground providing farmer extension support services and training to our farmers free of cost across the country to ensure they are getting value from our solutions and optimising their farm productivity.

Every maise hybrid (SY6444, SY5944, SY4052, MRI624 et al) and soybean variety (Dina or Mila) in the Synergy portfolio/product line-up is thoroughly evaluated in our research programme. This evaluation consists of strategic local testing sites throughout our territory (Zambia + Southern Africa).

Key program benefits include:

• One of the most extensive seed technology research programmes in Zambia + Southern Africa.

• We use advanced technology to map the future of Synergy Seed products.

• The programme uses advanced technology to identify hybrids/varieties with high performance for specific soil environments or ecological zones.

• Synergy evaluation plots are strategically placed in a wide range of environments across Zambia and Southern Africa.

• Synergy customers can substantially grow their profits by utilising the programme results.

• Our research programme condenses hundreds of hybrids in one plot replicated within a couple of acres to reduce variability through the plot.

• Historically, Synergy Seeds has always had highly intense research plots. However, with advanced technology, Synergy customers are assured of the very best research capabilities possible.

Our mission at Synergy Seeds is: To inspire and nurture our growers by making farmlands work for them through the power of creative minds and innovative technologies that delivers sustainable agricultural solutions that keep farmers on top of the yield curve.