Syngenta and Ascribe Bioscience partner to bring new biofungicide to Asian farmers. BASEL, Switzerland & ITHACA, N.Y.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Jun. 04, 2026 Today, Syngenta, a global leader in agricultural innovation, and Ascribe Bioscience announced the signing of a landmark development and supply agreement for PHYTALIX(R), a new biofungicide that has been proven to significantly enhance crop resistance against fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Syngenta will have exclusive commercial access to PHYTALIX(R) for use in rice and other major crops in Southeast Asia with potential expansion in other regions. This commercial partnership follows four years of validation by Syngenta through extensive trials, where PHYTALIX(R) delivered strong results thus making the product a valuable tool in integrated pest management (IPM) practices, as for instance against Bacterial Leaf Blight, while supporting consistent and significant yield gains in rice. PHYTALIX(R), based on discoveries made in the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, mimics plants' natural processes and enables growers to empower crops like rice, soybeans, corn, and wheat with enhanced resistance to a wide range of pathogens throughout the growing season. This commercial agreement will bring rice farmers in the region a new sustainable option that bridges the gap between conventional solutions and biocontrols. Rice is a daily staple for nearly half of the world's population, and demand is rising in the face of climate stress, emerging diseases, and resistances that challenge farmers' ability to maintain yields. PHYTALIX(R) offers high stability, low application rates, and a novel mode of action that controls a broad spectrum of pathogens making it suitable for adoption on farms of all sizes to control complex diseases like Bacterial Leaf Blight in rice. "The collaboration with Ascribe reflects our commitment to bringing farmers differentiated solutions that help them implement more efficient farming strategies and more modern farming approaches by combined use of conventional and biological products," said Emilhano Lima, Syngenta's Global Head Seedcare and Biologicals. "Partnering with other innovators in the industry is crucial to accelerate the delivery of biological solutions to the farmers who need them most," concluded Syngenta's Lima. Dr. Jay Farmer, cofounder and CEO of Ascribe, added: "By partnering with Syngenta in Asia, we're able to bring this innovation out of the lab and into the hands of farmers who need new, sustainable options to manage crop diseases. Syngenta's partnership represents strong validation of the global potential for PHYTALIX(R)." The companies will advance registration activities and market development across the covered Asian markets with the first commercial launches in Asia planned for 2029. Web Resources 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 its planet. Its bold scientific discoveries deliver better benefits for farmers and society on a bigger scale than ever before. Guided by its Sustainability Goal, 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. About Ascribe Bioscience Ascribe Bioscience is an Ithaca, NY-based agricultural technology company developing natural crop protection solutions. Founded in 2017 based on research from the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, Ascribe's flagship biofungicide, Phytalix(R), harnesses small molecules from the soil microbiome to create effective, environmentally friendly disease control solutions that help farmers grow more resilient crops and harvest higher yields. Data protection is important to Studio Magenta Limited. You are receiving this publication on the legal basis of Article 6 para 1 lit. f GDPR ("legitimate interest"). However, if you do not wish to receive further information about Syngenta, just send Studio Magenta Limited a brief informal message and Studio Magenta Limited will no longer process your details for this purpose. You can also find further details in its privacy statement. Syngenta's 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, amongst others, risks relating to legal proceedings, regulatory approvals, new product development, increasing competition, customer credit risk, general economic and market conditions, refinancing risk, interest rate fluctuations and access to capital markets, compliance and remediation, evolving environmental and sustainability regulations, changes in agricultural policies or subsidy regimes, 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 grain prices, supply chain disruptions, (geo)political risks, trade restrictions, sanctions, and export controls, 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. (C) 2026 Syngenta. Rosentalstrasse 67, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.

41 arrested for confronting pesticide giant making bee-killing chemicals. Alison Kirkman May 20, 2026 * 41 people, including Greenpeace UK's Campaigns Director, have been ARRESTED following a peaceful protest that shut down pesticide giant Syngenta's Yorkshire HQ over production of pesticide deadly to millions of bees Forty-one people including Greenpeace UK's Campaigns Director have been arrested today following a peaceful blockade that shut down the UK headquarters of global pesticide company Syngenta in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire [1]. Greenpeace has accused Syngenta of driving wildlife decline and threatening UK food security by making and selling pesticides that poison British wildlife. New Greenpeace analysis of official data [2], reveals today that just one teaspoon of the Syngenta-made pesticide, Hallmark, is enough to kill 13 million bees. Its active ingredient, Lambda-cyhalothrin, also made and sold by Syngenta, is by far the most-used insecticide on arable land in the UK with 6.9 tonnes of it applied to over 1 million hectares in 2024 [3]. That's an area more than six times the size of London. Greenpeace UK Co-Executive Director, Will McCallum, said: "Today's arrests are a huge overreaction by police. The damage Syngenta is doing to wildlife and our countryside cannot be overstated, which is why we're here to confront them. They're making and selling pesticides that devastate our wildlife, make UK farmers dependent on their products, and put our whole food system at risk - yet they're getting away scot free. "If only the Government channelled the same passion it shows for quashing peaceful protest into ending the silent crisis unfolding in our countryside. We need to drastically cut chemicals on our land and in our waterways, and farmers need funding to enable them to do it. This is crucial so that nature - the very foundations of our food system - can recover." As well as being deadly to bees, lambda cyhalothrin is classified as a Highly Hazardous Pesticide, very toxic to aquatic life, and a forever chemical (PFAS) which means it is highly persistent in the soil and can accumulate in the food chain. Insecticides like this also starve birds and mammals like hedgehogs by depriving them of their food source. The action follows Greenpeace UK's report Our poisoned land, published last week, which warned that intensive pesticide and fertiliser use is pushing UK wildlife and ecosystems to the brink. The report revealed that commonly eaten British fruit and veg are routinely sprayed with over 100 pesticides before reaching the plate. Notes to editors. The UK government's international commitment is to halve pesticide risks and excess nutrients by 2030 and yet so far its own action plan only commits to a 10% reduction for pesticide use. Greenpeace is calling for: * a 50% reduction in pesticide and fertiliser use by 2030 * an 80% reduction by 2040 * funding and support for farmers to reduce reliance on chemical inputs * tighter restrictions on pesticide use in public spaces and homes [1] Activists transformed a roundabout outside the front entrance of Syngenta's HQ into a giant hazard symbol carrying the message "Syngenta poisons nature" with an arrow pointing directly at the building. Thirty activists locked onto fifteen blue pesticide barrels, blocking all three gates to the site, preventing cars and HGVs from entering or leaving. Eight of the barrels were topped with ultra-realistic sculptures of wildlife threatened by pesticides including a bee, butterfly, bird, fish, frog and hedgehog. The barrels were painted with Syngenta's logo, subverted to show the skeleton of a leaf, rather than a healthy green one. [2] Source: Pesticide Properties DataBase (PPDB), University of Hertfordshire. [3] Source: FERA Report 320 - Arable Crops in the UK, 2024. Greenpeace analysis found Lambda-cyhalothrin was used during the growing process of common British produce including potatoes, peas, carrots, onions, leeks and strawberries. Of the 41 products authorised for use in the UK containing lambda-cyhalothrin, 8 are marketed by Syngenta. They are the only one of the 'Big Four' agrochemical companies (Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Corteva) authorised to sell it in the UK. Syngenta's global profits were $4.4 billion last year. Pesticide giants like Syngenta have locked farmers into a reliance on expensive chemical inputs including pesticides and fertilisers. This threatens our food security because as well as damaging soils and poisoning the pollinators that food production depends on, farmers and our food system are more vulnerable to rising costs caused by global instability - as we've seen recently with fertiliser price rises.

Syngenta Group reported first-quarter 2026 sales of $6.4 billion, up 2% year-on-year, with EBITDA rising 5% to $1.4 billion. The EBITDA margin expanded to 21.9% from 21.4% in the prior year, driven by higher-margin products and operational efficiency. The agricultural technology company saw growth across all four business units despite geopolitical uncertainty and trade disruptions. Syngenta Crop Protection recorded sales of $3.5 billion, up 3%, whilst Seeds sales rose 7% to $1.5 billion. ADAMA sales increased 4% to $1.0 billion. The company secured nearly 350 product approvals during the quarter and held groundbreaking ceremonies for new R&D sites in Shanghai and the UK. Syngenta transferred ownership of its Sinofert business to Sinochem Holdings on 31 December 2025.