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General Meeting on April 24, 2012, a 14 percent increase in the dividend to CHF 8.00. 

Our performance in Crop Protection was marked by strong volume growth throughout the year and a significant improvement in pricing in the second half. This was a consequence of our determined action in raising prices to reflect the value offered by our products. We also saw further substantial growth in Seeds, with sales surpassing US$3 billion and the EBITDA margin exceeding the 15 percent target set in 2007, when the margin was below 5 percent. 

It is from this position of strength that we now transition to a combined crop-based offer, which we illustrated for the first time at our Capital Markets Days in the UK and the USA to which we invited investors, analysts, customers, media and numerous other stakeholders. The events covered our portfolios for the major crops and fully brought to life the potential of these portfolios as they are progressively integrated into compelling new offers. We also presented pipelines for each crop which together represent combined sales potential of over US$22 billion post 2015. 

The Capital Markets Days also emphasized the global reach of our business and in particular our long-established presence in the emerging markets, which in 2011 represented 49 percent of group sales, having grown at a compound annual rate of 17 percent over the last five years. It is in these markets that the industry growth drivers of population and dietary change are concentrated, and yet it is also in these markets that the need for productivity increases is greatest. The potential of our offer in, for example, rice and vegetables in Asia or sugar cane and cotton in Brazil is immense. This potential will be realized 

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through further investments and through a continuing tradition of tailored offers supported by local teams. 

Smallholders are at the heart of agricultural development in the emerging markets, and their fate will effectively determine the world’s long-term food security. There are 450 million small farms typically supporting five household members each, meaning that one-third of the world’s population directly depends on them for part of their livelihood. The economic development of smallholder communities demands broad-based international cooperation in which business also plays a critical role. Syngenta provides not only valuable technology but also knowledge in areas such as finance, risk and supply chain management. This allows smallholders to progress to a point where the sustainability of their farms gives rise to the sustainability of their farming communities, thereby enabling ongoing investment in education and infrastructure. 

I believe that the success of the integrated strategy will increase Syngenta’s contribution to global food security. I have been enormously encouraged by the interest and excitement with which the strategy has been received in this first year of implementation. I would like to thank our employees across the world for their commitment and look forward to working with them as we strive to realize the company’s ambition. 

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3. Discussing the new strategy with Syngenta employees during the Crop Demonstration Days in Basel, Switzerland. 

4. Presenting his address ‘Living on the Edge: The New Norm?’ at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. 

