Controversial agrochemicals giant Syngenta has extensive academic, research and professional ties to the University of York, a Nouse investigation can reveal. Pesticides produced and exported by Syngenta from the UK have been linked to deaths abroad, for which Syngenta faces significant legal and scientific opposition.
Syngenta is a multinational, Chinese state-owned conglomerate headquartered in Switzerland. The company was first formed in 2000 by Novartis AG and AstraZeneca PLC via an agreement to spin off and merge the Novartis crop protection and seeds businesses with the AstraZeneca agrochemicals business. Syngenta deals in crop protection and seed production, and its products include pesticides, herbicides, biofuel and corn.
Extensive ties
The company has strong ties with York’s Department of Chemistry. For example, students pursuing a Masters in Chemistry can apply to five different placements at Syngenta’s Jealott’s Hill research facility. These paid, year-long opportunities include an organic chemistry placement, where students are tasked with characterising "biologically relevant compounds", more specifically "learning how to design compounds with herbicidal activity". Students are required to display ‘passion’ for applying this chemistry to life. Syngenta also funds PhDs at York, for example “Developing novel scaffold proteins to stabilize and enhance protein-based insecticides”, a doctoral project that began in September 2023 and will last until September 2027.
PhD student James Shannon was awarded best research talk at the Syngenta Chemistry Collaborative Research Conference 2018, for his talk on the use of carbonaceous materials for the improvement of agricultural resilience. He received the award from the head of crop protection at Syngenta, Dr. Steve Smith. They also sponsor the Process Chemistry Research Prize alongside AstraZeneca and GSK, which was won by York professors Peter O’Brien in 2017 and Ian Fairlamb in 2019.
York carries out extensive research for Syngenta, involving hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of funding. For example, in 2021 York academics began to work with Syngenta on a 36 month research project, worth £519,276, into “New Enzymatic Virulence Factors In Phytophthora Infestans”, which Nouse understands would have significant benefits for crop protection products including herbicides. Most of the research carried out by York for syngenta involves using metal catalysts to activate C-C formation, to help improve germination and growth of crops using carbon for photosynthesis.
A University of York Spokesperson told Nouse: “Syngenta fund several PhDs across the University and works with us on some really important research projects around the world, and we’re proud of how we partner with them to address pressing and emerging challenges in agriculture."
“For example, our researchers in Chemistry are working with Syngenta to develop greener, more sustainable agrochemicals - vital if we are to help maintain the food supply across the globe."
“In Biology, a project looking at climate resilient cereals includes Syngenta and partners in the UK, Germany and Vietnam. This is sponsored by the leading UK government agency that funds research and training in the biosciences."
“These important projects all contribute to improving farming globally and demonstrate the value of our research with our partners, which ultimately helps us move to a greener, more sustainable future.”
Speaking to Nouse, advocacy group Scientists for Global Responsibility described these research arrangements as an example of “Corporate Science” - Research and Development funded by the private sector, often with a narrow focus on new technologies beneficial to specific businesses. A recent report by SfGR identifies the 2013 Witty Review and the 2017 Higher Education and Research Act as the point of introduction of “greater marketisation into the university setting.”
Universities are now encouraged by the government to facilitate UK economic growth, driving them towards more lucrative industrial and research relationships. This has only been exacerbated by the recent financial struggles of the Higher Education sector.
A previous partnership between the University of California (Berkeley) and Sygenta, worth millions of dollars and lasting between 2003 and 2008, was found by an independent review to have “compromised the mission of the university”. The review suggested that Syngenta-funded research had created “serious conflicts of interest” amongst academics - environmental and ethical concerns were put at risk in the face of $25 million from Syngenta.
A Syngenta spokesperson told Nouse that “collaboration with Universities, especially in the US, is a well-established practice for various industries. It is recognised that the combined knowledge and perspective from universities and industry can lead to breakthrough in innovation and technol- ogies, bringing important public benefits.”
“Industry collaboration with universities is also good practice as it brings in further critical scrutiny to research.”
Global concerns:
One of York’s core principles, announced in 2021, is Internationalism: “We embrace global awareness and responsibility in all that we do. We seek partners with complementary skill sets, ambitions and networks, so that together we can address pressing and emerging challenges.”
Speaking to Nouse, pesticide expert Michael Eddleston from the University of Edinburgh highlighted key global issues with two Syngenta pesticides: “Paraquat has now been removed from agriculture in about 70 countries worldwide, without any effect on agricultural output. Unfortunately, there now appears to be an increasing number of deaths from diquat poisoning, especially in China and Brasil, where it has replaced paraquat. There is a need to evaluate the need for diquat in agriculture to deal with this problem.”
“Clearly, paraquat and diquat are major global problems regarding acute poisoning in rural agricultural communities.”
“Close ties between the industry and academia are troubling. It is now becoming clearer how the pesticide industry negatively influences public health agendas, similar to many other industries.”
In response to this, a Syngenta spokesperson told Nouse “Herbicides such as paraquat are essential tools for many farmers wanting to implement no/ minimal till farming, a key component of regenerative farming practices. One of the main way farmers can reduce their carbon emission and improve soil health is by implementing no till practices together with the use of cover crops. Tilling to control weed growth releases carbon that has been sequestrated in the soil. Cover crops help replenish nutrients in the soil, boosting soil health and helping to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. For most farmers implementing these regenerative practices of no till and cover crops to reduce the carbon footprint of our food, herbicides are key to enable this."
“No-till farming, a well-established practice in Brazil, covers over 60% of the country’s total planted area. Diquat’s importance extends beyond weed control in no-till systems; it is also utilised in pre-harvest applications for soybeans. This practice helps ensure optimal timing for planting the second crop of corn (known as “safrinha” or little harvest in Brazil). The ability to precisely time harvest and subsequent planting means farmers can have two harvests per year on the same land, increase agricultural productivity and reduce pressure to clear new areas for cultivation As with all chemicals, including pesticides such as paraquat, care must be taken to minimise human exposure. Provided that basic good agricultural practices are observed, including following all product label requirements, there is no risk to human safety with the use of paraquat. This is the conclusion reached on the basis of extensive laboratory toxicology studies with paraquat and over 60 years of experience in use.”
Between 2017 and 2023 Syngenta faced 7,300 lawsuits in the United States, according to a 2023 financial report. Each case alleges that “use or exposure to Syngenta’s paraquat products has caused them to develop Parkinson’s disease and/ or kidney disease.” Speaking to Nouse, Syngenta stressed that no scientific studies have found a causal link between Paraquat and Parkinsons, only correlation: “Despite decades of investigation and more than 1,200 epidemiological and laboratory studies of paraquat, no scientist or doctor has ever concluded in a peer-reviewed scientific analysis that paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease. Our view is endorsed in science-based reviews by regulatory authorities, such as in the US, Australia and Japan.” “Producing active ingredients for crop protection is a highly complex process. To ensure that our compounds meet the stringent production standards and have the highest quality, we produce in only a few places around the world, from where we export to more than 90 countries.”
They also said that “paraquat is a potent herbicide that has a track record of more than 60 years of safe use when applied in line with labelled instructions. At Syngenta, we keep investing in developing better and safer products.” According to Syngenta, this includes training more than “42 million farmers around the world in the safe use of our products, and providing paraquat-specific training for farmers who use paraquat.”
They also emphasised that they lobby for increased safety communications for markets with low literacy, stricter warning labels, and advocating technologies to limit contact with Paraquat.
Pesticide risks
Diquat and Paraquat were first developed by the now defunct Imperial Chemical Industries in 1955 at their research complex in Jealott’s Hill, in Berkshire, now operated by Syngenta. Syngenta uses Jealott’s Hill to carry out agrochemicals research, and produces Diquat and Paraquat in its facilities in Huddersfield. Diquat and Paraquat are marketed globally under the brand names Reglone and Gramoxone.
The European Food Safety Agency banned Paraquat in 2007 due to its risk to “human and animal health”. Critics of the pesticide also link the handling of Paraquat to an increased risk of Parkinson’s dis- ease, as well as damage to the lungs, skin and eyes of workers.
The “Paraquat Papers”, published by environmental journalism site The New Lede, shows that an awareness of para- quat’s health risks existed at the highest levels of Syngenta, despite PR campaigns to the opposite effect. In-house research demonstrated the damage Paraquat caused to the central nervous system of humans and animals as early as 1975. The documents also show that, as criticism from independent scientists mounted, Syngenta embarked on a campaign to suppress unfavourable research. A “Paraquat Communications Manage- ment Team” was formed within Syngenta, known internally as the “Swat team”. Their job was to “immediately triage the situa- tion triggered by the release of a new news study or news article.” This included the commissioning of scientific reports to “create an international scientific consensus against the hypothesis that paraquat is a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease”.
Diquat was banned in the EU in 2018. EU bans mean that the pesticides cannot be used in Britain. They are also banned across the world including in Europe, China and Switzerland. However, it is still legal for paraquat and diquat to be manufactured and exported from the UK.
Speaking to Nouse, Pesticide Action Network UK said: “The continued manufacture and export of these pesticides is an inexcusable double standard and clearly shows that manufacturers and regulators are prepared to put profit before human health or environmental considerations.”
In response to this, a spokesperson from Syngenta commented that “Syngenta completely rejects any allegation that profit motive would outweigh our commitment to safety. Today, more than 750 companies around the world are registered to sell paraquat, reflecting paraquat’s status as a generic herbicide.” “Paraquat accounts for only about 1 percent of Syngenta’s crop protection sales globally and even less in terms of profitability – its place in our innovation-focused portfolio reflects primarily our commitment to farmers who value paraquat for its effectiveness”
“When selling these products, Syngenta always respects the sovereignty and direction of the importing country, meets all the international regulatory requirements including Prior Informed Consent and provides stewardship and detailed in- formation in country to promote the safe application by end users.”
“The crop protection industry is already one of the most regulated industries. Syngenta is keenly aware of all relevant regulations, and strictly abides by these regulations in the production, sale and transport of our crop protection products.”
Of the 8,500 tonnes of banned pesticides exported from Britain in 2023, 98% of them were exported by Syngenta. Not all of these exports are produced by Syngenta, but the UK’s top three banned pesticide exports (diquat, paraquat and thiamethoxam) were all Syngenta products.
This includes 2661 tonnes of Diquat exported to Brazil, where farmers claim to have developed tremors, eye damage and paralysis from using the pesticide. When Diquat was banned by the EU a court identified a non-dietary “high risk to workers, bystanders and residents.” The majority of the imported Diquat is used in the state of Paraná, the agricultural centre of Brazil. Diquat usage has recently surged in Paraná - to around 20,000 tons in 2020 - and with this has come an increase in accidental pesticide poisonings.
Marcelo de Souza Furtado of the Paraná health department told The Guardian that “we’re worried [...] if it’s already been banned in other countries, then that already shows that it has a very toxic effect.”
Syngenta recommends farmers use extensive personal protective equipment including overalls and gloves when handling Diquat, but Furtado emphasised that this protection was not an option for many cash-strapped Brazilian farmers.
Regarding the sale of harmful pesticides in Brazil, a spokesperson from Syngenta told Nouse that: “every year Syngenta trains 100,000’s of people in the safe use of our products. This year we expect to train over 55,000 individuals in Brazil alone. Data from an independent study led by a UCL doctor published in 2021 indicates that death by voluntary ingestion of pesticides in Brazil had been declining overall since 2011. “Paraquat and Diquat are generic herbicides, and Syngenta is only one of hundreds of companies around the world that sell products containing these herbicides.”
“In countries where Syngenta sells formulations containing paraquat and diquat, Syngenta implements a variety of product stewardship measures – including training, innovation in application technologies, improving formulation and use patterns to minimise the potential for exposure, and many other efforts, that distinguish Syngenta from other companies.”
“Blocking farmers’ access to high quality and authorised products encourages a market for counterfeit and illegal product – many of which are produced by sophisticated criminal organisations using harmful and unregulated ingredients, that place farmers at even greater risk."
