At the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit, Syngenta announced a partnership with Switzerland's first commercial quantum hub, QuantumBasel. This collaboration aims to leverage quantum computing to accelerate agricultural R&D, helping farmers navigate climate change and increasing global food demands.

Farmers worldwide face mounting pressure to produce more food sustainably amid unpredictable weather and evolving pest and disease challenges. Meeting these demands requires new scientific approaches that go beyond what classical computing can deliver, particularly when it comes to understanding the complex molecular and biological systems that underpin crop science. 

Developing safe, effective, and sustainable crop protection products requires understanding molecular interactions of extraordinary complexity that classical computers can only approximate. Quantum computing has the future potential to model this complexity with far greater precision, and to predict details about molecular behaviour that have previously been out of reach, bringing new insights into product design and opening new pathways for innovation in agriculture.

To help realize this potential, Syngenta is launching a collaboration with QuantumBasel in Basel, Switzerland – a co-located working model that brings together QuantumBasel’s algorithmic expertise and access to advanced hardware and simulators with Syngenta’s scientists and agricultural R&D capabilities. Initial projects will aim to deepen our understanding of molecular behaviour with insights that could unlock new approaches to discovery and crop science.

"Quantum computing could be a catalyst for the next generation of scientific breakthroughs in agriculture," says Feroz Sheikh, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Syngenta Group. “It has the future potential to give us a deeper understanding of molecular interactions than has ever been possible, delivering insights and solutions that can help growers meet the challenges of a changing world.”

Quantum computing is an emerging technology with significant long-term potential in molecular modelling, AI and beyond. As the technology matures, Syngenta will be well-positioned to explore its application to some of the most complex challenges in crop science, and build the expertise and partnerships needed to apply it meaningfully in agricultural research.

Thomas Landolt, CEO QuantumBasel, says: "Our mission is to apply quantum computing capabilities to industry, and agriculture is one of the most exciting frontiers. By combining QuantumBasel's quantum computing know-how and infrastructure with Syngenta's deep agricultural expertise, we can help growers benefit from faster research cycles, better crop resilience, and more sustainable farming practices. We are excited for the chance to create an impact where it really matters."