George Clarke, Newsweek
Ido, thank you for speaking with us. To begin, for readers who may be unfamiliar with BetterSeeds, could you explain the core idea behind the company and what truly differentiates your approach from traditional seed companies?

Ido Margalit, BetterSeeds
BetterSeeds was founded with a very clear purpose to redesign crops for the realities of modern agriculture and more specifically for climate change as well as provide the next generation of CRISPR-based gene editing tools that enable CRISPR use across all crops. Traditional breeding is powerful but slow and limited in how precisely it can introduce new traits. First-generation CRISPR technology is relatively expensive, limited in scope and requires lengthy development cycles, so what sets us apart is our breakthrough second-generation CRISPR platform which has the ability to apply gene editing broadly across multiple crops rapidly and cost effectively and make targeted genetic edits that unlock traits farmers urgently need such as climate resilience, uniformity, improved harvestability, reduced input demand and disease resistance.

What sets us apart is our platform, which allows us to apply these editing principles across multiple crops, even those that have historically been very difficult to modify. This creates a scalable path to better performing varieties and accelerates innovation dramatically. Our goal is to make seeds future-ready rather than trying to adapt outdated genetics to an entirely new farming environment.

George Clarke
You often highlight the need to redesign crops rather than simply improve them. Which crops or traits are you prioritizing, and why are these particular improvements so important for future food security?

Ido Margalit
We prioritize crops where the gap between current genetics and future conditions is rapidly widening. For example, we work on peanuts, soybeans and other strategic protein crops because they sit at the center of global food and feed systems. As climates shift and yields come under pressure, traits such as heat tolerance, drought resilience and disease resistance become critical.

We also focus on architectural traits that influence the structure and harvestability of the plant. A more uniform plant height or a modified branching pattern can reduce labor costs, simplify harvesting and reduce losses. These structural improvements are often overlooked, but they can make a significant economic difference for farmers.

Our strategy is to improve traits that have direct, measurable impact on yield stability, cost reduction and resilience. These are the traits that will matter most in a world of climate volatility and increasing global demand.

George Clarke
Bringing next generation seeds to market requires navigating scientific challenges, regulatory complexity and adoption barriers. What would you describe as the single biggest challenge BetterSeeds faces today?

Ido Margalit
The biggest challenge is the time required to move from breakthrough science to widespread adoption. Gene editing itself is fast and even faster when leveraging our second-generation CRISPR platform. What takes time is the process of developing multiple stable generations, completing rigorous field testing, meeting regulatory expectations and demonstrating clear economic value to growers across different geographies.

Another challenge is awareness. Many farmers do not yet fully understand the difference between gene-edited crops and older genetic modification technologies. Gene editing is far more precise and does not introduce foreign DNA like GMO crops, but education is needed to build understanding and trust.

We address these challenges through transparency, collaboration with regulators, open communication with growers and a strong focus on demonstrating field-proven performance. Once farmers see the results, adoption accelerates.

George Clarke
Many growers continue to rely on legacy varieties despite rising climatic and economic pressures. What evidence can you share that demonstrates BetterSeeds genetics truly deliver a step change in performance?

Ido Margalit
We focus heavily on measurable outcomes. In our field trials, we have seen improvements such as more consistent plant architecture, which makes harvesting simpler and reduces field losses. We have also achieved significant gains in resilience attributes, such as improved tolerance to drought events, which directly stabilizes yield.

What matters to farmers is predictability. A seed that performs reliably under stressful conditions is often more valuable than one that offers a theoretical maximum yield. Our varieties are engineered with this logic in mind, they are designed to be stable across a wide range of real-world conditions. That is the evidence farmers respond to, not abstract potential but performance they can see in their own fields.

George Clarke
The agriculture landscape is evolving quickly with climate stress, labor shortages and shifting market demands. What role do you believe BetterSeeds can play in shaping a more resilient and profitable farming future?

Ido Margalit
BetterSeeds exists to give seed companies a fighting chance to provide farmers genetics that fit the world they actually farm in, not the world of twenty years ago. That means seeds that handle stress better, seeds that require fewer inputs and seeds that allow more efficient harvesting, even with limited labor.

Food systems are under pressure from every angle, and innovation in seeds is one of the highest leverage points for improving resilience. Farmers cannot change the climate, but they can adopt seeds that help them thrive despite it. Our role is to develop the varieties that will keep production sustainable, scalable and profitable over the next several decades.

George Clarke
You spend a significant amount of time engaging directly with growers. What insights from farmers have influenced your research direction the most, and how do you ensure farmer needs remain central to your innovation strategy?

Ido Margalit
Farmers consistently emphasize practicality. They want crops that are easier to harvest, more uniform, less prone to collapse under heat stress and less costly in terms of inputs. They want fewer surprises in the field.

This feedback has shaped our development priorities. We may be a high-tech company, but every trait we design must translate into a real field level benefit. We maintain regular contact with growers across key markets, hold field days and engage in iterative feedback loops. If a trait does not solve a real problem or add tangible value, we do not pursue it. Farmers are our north star.

George Clarke
A final question: what is the long-term legacy you want BetterSeeds to leave behind in agriculture?

Ido Margalit
We want to be remembered as the company that redefined what crops could be through the use of our second-generation CRISPR platform and unlocked a new era of climate-resilient agriculture. Our legacy should be that all seeds companies adopted gene editing thanks to us and that future generations of farmers have access to seeds that allow them to thrive despite the enormous pressures on global food systems.

If we succeed, farmers will look back and say that BetterSeeds helped agriculture transition into a more robust, productive and sustainable age. That is the impact we are committed to delivering.

George Clarke, Newsweek
For Newsweek readers who may not yet be familiar with RhizoSorb, could you start by explaining how your technology changes the way nutrients are delivered and absorbed by crops?

Phospholutions
RhizoSorb is a patented phosphorus fertilizer technology that fundamentally changes how phosphorus behaves in the soil. During production, an active material is embedded directly into phosphate granules. Unlike conventional phosphorus fertilizers, which dissolve rapidly and become chemically bound to soil particles, RhizoSorb releases phosphorus in response to plant demand.

This release is driven by natural changes in soil chemical gradients throughout the growing season. As a result, phosphorus remains available to plant roots for longer periods, rather than becoming locked away early in the season. In practical terms, this improves phosphorus-use efficiency by up to two times, allowing farmers to apply significantly less fertilizer while maintaining yield and lowering overall input costs.

George Clarke
What impact can improved phosphorus efficiency have on farm profitability and long-term soil health?

Phospholutions
From a profitability standpoint, the benefits are immediate and measurable. Farmers can typically apply around half as much phosphorus fertilizer while sustaining yields, which directly reduces input costs. Across many crops and regions, this can translate into savings of around $20 per acre or more, depending on market conditions.

There are also benefits further up the value chain. Fertilizer manufacturers can achieve faster production rates and lower manufacturing costs, producing more tons with improved margins.

From a soil health perspective, improved efficiency reduces the accumulation of excess phosphorus in the soil, which helps minimize fixation reactions and promotes more balanced nutrient availability. The lower salt index of the formulation supports soil biology and structure, while reduced phosphorus runoff helps protect water quality and limit eutrophication. Together, these effects contribute to healthier soils that remain productive across multiple growing cycles.

George Clarke
How do you see biological and mineral-based innovations reshaping the future of fertilizer systems?

Phospholutions
The future of fertilizer systems is clearly moving toward higher efficiency with lower environmental impact. Mineral-based innovations like RhizoSorb focus on improving how nutrients are released from the fertilizer granule itself, enabling crops to access more of what is applied.

Biological solutions play a complementary role by improving nutrient availability and root uptake dynamics, particularly for phosphorus already present in the soil. When combined, mineral and biological approaches can significantly increase overall nutrient availability and uptake efficiency.

It is important to recognize, however, that biologicals cannot fully replace the need to apply phosphorus over time. Crops remove phosphorus from the system, and that removal must be replenished. The goal is not elimination, but precision and efficiency.

George Clarke
What barriers still exist to scaling nutrient efficiency solutions globally, and how can the industry overcome them?

Phospholutions
One of the biggest barriers is adoption risk. Farmers are understandably cautious about changing practices that affect yield. There is also significant infrastructure already built around conventional fertilizers, from manufacturing to distribution and application.

Regional variability adds another layer of complexity. Soils, climates, and cropping systems differ widely, and economic signals such as fertilizer pricing or subsidies can influence adoption decisions. Scalability and ease of use are also critical factors.

To overcome these challenges, robust field validation is essential, along with clear performance guarantees. Integrating new technologies seamlessly into existing fertilizer supply chains is also key. Products need to be made, shipped, purchased, and applied in the same way as conventional fertilizers.

Supportive policy frameworks that reward reduced nutrient loss and sustainable practices can accelerate adoption, as can public-private partnerships that help bring solutions to resource-limited regions. Ultimately, technologies that perform consistently across soils, climates, and crops will scale the fastest.

George Clarke
Looking ahead five to 10 years, how important will nutrient innovation be in meeting global food security and sustainability goals?

Phospholutions
Nutrient innovation will be foundational. Phosphorus is a finite resource, and improving efficiency extends supply while helping buffer against price volatility. Reducing nutrient losses is also critical for protecting water quality, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining soil productivity under increasingly variable climate conditions.

As global food demand continues to rise, more precise nutrition will be required to support higher sustainable yield ceilings. This will also require a broader shift away from a purely volume-based mindset toward one that values efficiency, performance, and long-term resilience.

Advanced fertilizer technologies and nutrient efficiency solutions will be essential to feeding a growing global population without increasing environmental impact. Over the next decade, they will move from being optional enhancements to indispensable components of modern agriculture.

George Clarke, Newsweek
Pasi, thank you for joining me today. For Newsweek readers who may not yet be familiar with Solar Foods, could you start by explaining what the company does and the problem you are trying to solve?

Pasi Vainikka, Solar Foods
Thank you, George. It is a pleasure to be here. At Solar Foods, we have brought to market a completely new way of producing food. For the first time in human history, we can produce protein without relying on photosynthesis. Instead of growing plants or feeding animals, we use a fermentation-based technology that converts energy and simple inputs into a protein-rich ingredient.

The process is similar in principle to brewing or winemaking, but instead of yeast we use naturally occurring microorganisms that we have identified and cultivated. These organisms are extremely rich in protein. The result is a new food ingredient that is produced independently of agricultural land, weather conditions, or traditional farming inputs

George Clarke
Environmental impact is one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today. How does Solar Foods technology help reduce the environmental footprint of food production?

Pasi Vainikka
From the beginning, our founding team approached this problem from a scientific perspective. We asked what are the true root causes of the environmental footprint of the global food system. When you break it down, there are three major contributors.

The first is methane emissions from livestock. The second is nitrogen-based fertilizers, which have enabled huge yield increases since the Second World War but also lead to emissions of nitrous oxide, a very powerful greenhouse gas. The third is land use change, particularly deforestation and the loss of natural habitats as agricultural land expands.

Our technology bypasses all three. We do not rely on animals, we do not require nitrogen fertilizers, and we do not need agricultural land. By focusing on the primary conversion technology first, all of the environmental benefits follow naturally. Many companies start with the consumer product and branding. We started by redesigning the foundation of how food is produced.

George Clarke
Alternative proteins are often discussed in the context of food security. What role do you see them playing in addressing global supply challenges?

Pasi Vainikka
This is an extremely important topic. Recently I reviewed analysis showing how price volatility across major food commodities has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Coffee, wheat, soy, rice, almost all of them show growing instability. That volatility is an early warning signal that supply is becoming tighter.

We are already seeing how climate-related events such as droughts, floods, and extreme heat affect production. We have also seen how geopolitics can disrupt supply chains, from fertilizer shortages to conflicts that impact grain exports. Price volatility is often the first symptom of deeper supply risks.

Technologies that are not dependent on long, global supply chains offer a form of resilience. They can act as a hedge against both climate and geopolitical shocks. In the most extreme cases, food insecurity is not about price at all, but about access. New production technologies can help stabilize the system before we reach that point.

George Clarke
Introducing novel food technologies often comes with regulatory hurdles. How do you navigate those challenges, particularly as a European company?

Pasi Vainikka
Regulation is one of the most complex aspects of food innovation. In practice, there are two globally influential regulatory systems for novel foods: the United States and the European Union. Approval in one of these markets often enables access elsewhere.

The challenge is that the European Union, while strong in scientific research, has an overly complex regulatory process for food technologies. This makes commercialization slow and difficult, even for innovations developed through European science. As a result, many food technologies end up scaling elsewhere.

This reflects a broader competitiveness issue. Europe funds world-class research through programs such as Horizon, yet struggles to bring those innovations to market. Food technology is a very clear example of that gap between research excellence and commercial execution.

George Clarke
Farmers are sometimes resistant to change, particularly when it comes to adopting new practices. How can innovations like yours support farmers rather than disrupt them?

Pasi Vainikka
I actually see this as a major opportunity for farmers. For decades, farmers have been asked to produce locally, sustainably, and at very low prices, often with heavy subsidies. When prices rise, social and political pressure quickly follows.

What new technologies can do is separate cultural and premium food production from baseline calorie supply. Many traditional foods are deeply cultural. They are not just nutrition, they are identity. Those products can be produced in lower volumes, with much higher value, and priced accordingly.

At the same time, new technologies can provide the bulk of efficient, low-impact nutrition. This allows farmers to focus on quality rather than volume. In practice, a farmer could reduce production significantly while earning the same or even greater income. I see this as beneficial for both innovation and traditional agriculture.

George Clarke
Looking ahead, what technological advances do you believe will have the greatest impact on making alternative proteins more accessible to consumers?

Pasi Vainikka
I see progress happening at both ends of the system. At the production level, we must dramatically improve efficiency. Photosynthesis and animal-based protein conversion are inherently inefficient given the size of the global population. New ways of generating calories without land use are essential.

At the other end, there is a convergence between food technology and health. Personalized nutrition, gut health, and metabolic health are becoming increasingly important. We are already seeing this with the rapid adoption of GLP-1 one medications for weight management, which are influencing not just individuals but entire household purchasing habits.

This shows how quickly behavior can change at scale. I believe food will increasingly incorporate health-focused functionality in ways that feel familiar rather than futuristic. That is where accessibility will come from.

George Clarke
Finally, on a personal note, what legacy would you like to leave behind?

Pasi Vainikka
I have been very fortunate. I received a high-quality education, largely supported by society. With that privilege comes responsibility. I am fully aware of the environmental challenges we face, from climate change to biodiversity loss and water pollution.

When I am older and my grandchildren ask what I did about these problems, I want to have a meaningful answer. I may not solve everything, but I want to be able to say that I tried, that I used my skills and opportunities to contribute to a better system. That, for me, is what matters most.

George Clarke, Newsweek
Cem, thank you for joining me. To start, for readers who may not yet be familiar with Topraq.ai, could you give us a brief overview of who you are and what the company does?

Cem Ertal, Co Founder, Topraq.ai
I am a mathematical engineer by training and previously spent many years managing research and development teams in software and technology. In 2019, we moved into agriculture after working closely with a partner who manages a cherry orchard in the Manisa region of Turkey.

He was facing the same challenges many farmers face today. Existing agricultural technologies were expensive, difficult to use, and often disconnected from real farm needs. We believed we could build something better, so we founded Topraq.ai.

Everything we develop is driven by real problems observed on working farms. When we see a solution succeed on our own fields, our goal is to scale it first across Turkey and then globally, because these challenges are not local. They are universal across modern agriculture.

George Clarke
What do you see as the biggest gap in how farmers currently understand their soil, and how can AI help close that gap?

Cem Ertal
Modern agriculture is in what I describe as a downward spiral. Farmers are effectively operating blind. Most still rely on traditional soil tests or leaf tests that provide only a snapshot of data that may be weeks or months old.

They are forced to make decisions without real-time insight into what their crops actually need. To compensate, they apply more synthetic fertilizer or water than necessary. Over time, this damages soil biology. As soil health declines, plants lose their natural immunity, which drives higher spending on pesticides and insecticides.

Today, farms can spend 30 to 40 percent of their total budget on these inputs, yet profitability continues to fall. Farmers are working harder than ever but earning less. Topraq.ai was created to break that cycle by providing continuous, real-time intelligence that allows farmers to respond precisely rather than react blindly.

George Clarke
Trust and adoption remain major hurdles in agritech. What has been the hardest challenge in getting farmers to adopt AI-driven tools?

Cem Ertal
Farmers do not believe in anything unless they see it working with their own eyes. Agriculture is especially challenging because technology must prove itself season after season. A single successful trial is not enough.

That is why we started by implementing our systems on our own farms. We tested, refined and validated the results across multiple growing cycles. Only then did we begin showcasing the outcomes to other farmers.

The biggest challenge is building that trust and providing training so farmers understand not just how to use the technology, but why it works. Once they see consistent results, adoption becomes much easier.

George Clarke
How can data-driven soil intelligence directly improve farm economics, not just sustainability outcomes?

Cem Ertal
Our approach goes beyond soil analysis alone. We install IoT systems including weather stations and soil sensors that monitor the farm continuously. We describe this as capturing the heartbeat of the farm 24 hours a day.

On top of that, we conduct advanced diagnostics similar to medical checkups. This starts with water analysis, which is critical for irrigation and foliar applications. We then perform advanced soil tests that focus on soil biology, not just chemical composition. Traditional tests measure what nutrients exist in the soil. We measure how much of those nutrients are actually bioavailable to the plant.

Finally, we conduct plant sap analysis, which is effectively a blood test for crops. This high-frequency test allows us to see inside the plant every three to four weeks and identify nutrient deficiencies in real time.

By delivering balanced nutrition at the right time and in the right amounts, farmers use significantly less fertilizer. Stronger plant immunity also reduces the need for pesticides and insecticides. In the short term, yields and crop quality improve while input costs fall. In the long term, soil health improves, compounding these gains year after year.

George Clarke
AI platforms are often seen as add-ons today. Do you expect them to become core to farm operations over the next five to 10 years?

Cem Ertal
Absolutely. Farms already generate enormous amounts of data. With thousands of IoT devices collecting millions of data points daily, it is no longer humanly possible to analyze how variables such as weather, soil biology and nutrient uptake interact.

AI platforms are becoming essential to correlate this complexity. That is why we are developing what we call an agriculture-specific AI platform, rather than a generic model. Each AI agent focuses on a specific domain such as water, soil, plant health, or sensor data, and then integrates those insights into actionable decisions for the farm.

However, AI is only as good as the data it receives. If you feed poor or incomplete data into the system, you will get misleading recommendations. Data quality is just as important as the AI itself.

George Clarke
There is a growing perception that AI alone can solve agricultural challenges. How do you respond to that?

Cem Ertal
AI is not magic. It does not fix problems on its own. Without accurate, real-time data, AI can actually do more harm than good.

For example, traditional leaf tests may show high nutrient accumulation, but plant sap analysis often reveals real-time deficiencies that directly affect photosynthesis. If AI systems are trained on outdated or incomplete data, they will produce incorrect recommendations.

Data is the foundation. AI simply helps us interpret it at scale. Without the right data inputs and proper training, AI systems will hallucinate answers and lead farmers in the wrong direction.

George Clarke
From an investment and policy perspective, where should agribusinesses and governments focus to build truly resilient data-driven agriculture?

Cem Ertal
The focus should be on measurable outcomes. If you cannot measure something, you cannot manage it. Investments should prioritize KPI-driven solutions that deliver proven results for farmers, not technology for technology’s sake.

From a policy standpoint, subsidies and incentives should be aligned with performance metrics such as soil health improvement, input efficiency and yield stability. For investors, it is critical to understand the long-term vision of the companies they support and whether their solutions genuinely improve farm economics and resilience.

George Clarke
Finally, on a personal note, what legacy would you like to leave behind?

Cem Ertal
What motivates me most is soil regeneration and food quality. Today, we are degrading soil at an alarming rate, and the food we consume is becoming less nutritious as chemical dependency increases.

My goal is to help restore soil health so future generations can access healthier, more nutritious food. This is not about money. If you build something meaningful that solves a real problem, financial success follows naturally.

I want my child, and others, to inherit a world where agriculture is regenerative, sustainable and capable of feeding people properly. That is the legacy I care about.

George Clarke, Newsweek
Ilias, thank you very much for joining me. To start, many in the Newsweek audience may not yet be familiar with Wikifarmer. Could you give us a brief overview of the platform and what you do?

Ilias, Co Founder, Wikifarmer
Wikifarmer started as an idea from my co founder, who is both an agronomist and a farmer. The original concept was to create the Wikipedia of farming, because we identified a major gap in accessible education for farmers, particularly around best practices for yield, sustainability and environmental impact.

As we built the platform, we quickly saw strong global adoption and engagement from farmers. Through those interactions, it became clear that education was only part of the problem. The agricultural industry remains significantly under-digitized and heavily reliant on intermediaries. Farmers take most of the risk but receive the least value, while buyers also lose out due to inefficiencies.

This led us to launch a B2B marketplace that connects farmers directly with buyers. We manage quality control, logistics and financing, making Wikifarmer a full-stack procurement platform. Today, we connect mainly Mediterranean producers with buyers around the world, while also offering education, pricing insights and a digital academy to help farmers operate more professionally and competitively at a global scale.

George Clarke
Transparency and trust are critical in agriculture. How is Wikifarmer using technology to improve transparency across the supply chain?

Ilias
Our technology is not deep tech in the traditional sense. It is marketplace technology that has already transformed industries like travel and retail. What makes it powerful in agriculture is the transparency it introduces.

Historically, farmers relied on phone calls, local traders and rumors to understand pricing, often with little visibility into what was fair. On Wikifarmer, pricing is digitized and transparent. We also provide full traceability, including where a product was produced, who handled it and how it was transported.

Technology allows us to collect, manage and present data to both farmers and buyers. This transparency builds trust, improves price fairness and enables global commerce that previously required travel, trade shows and significant personal networks.

George Clarke
What role do digital platforms play today in helping farmers access fairer markets and better pricing?

Ilias
Digital platforms offer scalability, market access and freedom. When farmers earn higher and more stable profits, they can reinvest in their businesses and gradually modernize how they operate.

Many farmers are still managing their businesses much as they did twenty years ago, despite producing the most valuable part of the supply chain. Technology enables a fairer and more transparent food system by removing unnecessary intermediaries.

The first step is getting the basics right. Platforms like ours help small and mid-sized farmers access global markets. From there, adoption of more advanced technologies becomes possible.

George Clarke
Do you see agritech contributing to more sustainable farming practices globally?

Ilias
Absolutely. Agritech can reduce waste, increase yields and lower risk for farmers. Climate change has made farming more uncertain, and technology can help farmers manage that risk more effectively.

In developed markets, we are also seeing fewer people willing to farm. In less developed regions, technology helps address quality, safety and production challenges. Sustainability ultimately depends on profitability, and agritech plays a key role in achieving both.

George Clarke
What has been the biggest challenge in scaling a digital agritech platform across different regions?

Ilias
The biggest challenge is mindset. Trust takes time, especially among older generations who are used to trading in very traditional ways. Education is critical. Once farmers try the platform and see results, adoption tends to be long term.

Another challenge is product diversity and compliance. Food products have different quality standards and regulatory requirements, which adds complexity. Logistics is also a bottleneck, as transportation has not been fully digitized yet, although this is improving rapidly.

George Clarke
Looking ahead, which agritech innovations do you believe will have the greatest impact on small and mid-sized farmers?

Ilias
Beyond marketplaces, technologies that help farmers monitor and optimize production are extremely important. Tools that measure water usage, automate irrigation and analyze crop health can significantly improve efficiency and profitability.

AI-driven disease detection is another area with enormous potential. Crop diseases can devastate entire regions, and early detection can dramatically reduce risk.

However, these technologies require education and financial stability. That is why we believe profitability comes first. When farmers earn more, they are far more likely to adopt modern tools and sustainable practices.

George Clarke
Finally, on a more personal note, what legacy would you like to leave behind?

Ilias
I left a very comfortable role at Google to work in agriculture because I believe this industry needs fundamental change. My ambition is to help digitize agriculture in a way that meaningfully improves its economics.

One day, I would like to see an impact study showing that Wikifarmer changed how value is distributed in the food system and helped farmers become a stronger part of the global economy. Without a sustainable agricultural ecosystem, we risk serious food security challenges in the future. If I can contribute to preventing that, I would consider it a meaningful legacy.

George Clarke, Newsweek
Ross, absolute pleasure to have you here, and thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today. To start, for Newsweek readers who may not know you, who are Wild BioScience and what is your mission in sustainable agriculture?

Ross, Wild BioScience
Thanks for having me, George. Happy to. The way we think about this is that agriculture is the place where some of the biggest global challenges collide. Food security is going the wrong direction, environmental decline continues to be driven by farming practices and climate stress compounds all of it. Every one of those problems makes the others harder to solve.

For us, everything plays out on the farm. If you want meaningful solutions that can scale, that is where you start. That is what drives me and what draws people to Wild.

The core question is how do you design a farming system that addresses all these issues at once. The vision is a farm that is efficient, resilient and acts almost like an ecosystem engineer. A system that gets carbon where it needs to be which is back in the soil rather than the atmosphere. That is exactly what we are trying to build.

Our starting point is the crop itself. If we want something globally scalable, it must be drop-in, replacement-ready, and not require farmers to change behavior. If you can deliver benefits directly through the seed, then you have a realistic path to global adoption.

Wild plants have been around for hundreds of millions of years. They have survived extreme climates and solved many challenges our crops now face. So we study these wild genomes, decipher what solutions evolution has already built and bring those solutions into major crops. That is the founding idea behind Wild BioScience.

George Clarke
You are working with genomes, environmental data, and predictive tools. How do you actually bring those together effectively?

Ross
It is certainly a challenge. Early on, we said let us feed the large volume of public data into a model and see what comes out. But once we started manually curating those datasets, we ended up discarding about a quarter of them. The model instantly improved. So the lesson is that data quality matters much more than data quantity.

Crop genomes are far larger and more complex than the human genome and fewer people work on them. You are piecing together an enormous puzzle with missing pieces.

We realised quickly that we needed to generate our own datasets. Sequencing genomes is easy and cheap now and there are huge historical datasets on yield, but nothing tightly links the two. Climate variation, agronomy, field conditions all distort the relationships. So we generate new data categories that tightly pair genomic information with real physiological and biochemical performance indicators.

For example, measuring how many CO₂ molecules enter a leaf per second. That is a powerful predictor of photosynthetic efficiency, but almost nobody collects it at scale.

By building proprietary data that bridges genome to performance, our AI models can identify which evolutionary innovations actually matter. You can look at a wild plant performing incredibly well and understand exactly which genetic components deliver that advantage. That creates a precise menu of solutions we can introduce into major crops.

George Clarke
When it comes to higher yields with fewer inputs, what biological levers matter most and what restricts adoption?

Ross
Historically, yield has improved slowly. If you asked a Roman wheat farmer, they could feed four people from a hectare. Today, that same hectare feeds around twenty. If you had told them that, they would have thought you were making it up.

Yet the photosynthetic efficiency of wheat today is almost identical to what it was in Roman times. Only two to three percent of sunlight becomes usable plant energy. That means there is enormous headroom for improvement.

We are optimistic because evolution has already produced plants far more efficient than our crops in every meaningful trait. Water use, nitrogen use, photosynthesis, resilience. The bottlenecks are biological and can be targeted directly.

Using AI tools combined with gene editing, we can identify bottlenecks and bring evolutionary solutions into crops with precision. We do not need to invent new biology. Nature already solved these problems. We simply transfer those solutions into our crops.

One of the challenges is that people assume there is a hard ceiling on yield. But once you show them that wild species already outperform crops by large margins, adoption gets much easier. The evidence speaks for itself.

George Clarke
What partnership or financing models support scaling this globally?

Ross
Agriculture is massive. No single organisation can do it all. The value chain from seed companies to growers to food buyers is huge and every part of that chain benefits from more resilient and more efficient farms. So alignment is very possible.

Our approach is to work with seed companies that already serve regional growers. They have the breeding programs, distribution networks and local expertise we would never match on our own. We contribute the evolutionary insights, the trait technology and the translation layer that shows how a specific trait can improve a regional variety.

The first Wild infused crops to reach farmers will come through partner pipelines. That gives us immediate global reach without needing our own direct distribution everywhere.

While we build this, we raise capital to fund the development. We recently closed a round led by the Ellison Institute which has been incredibly strategic for us because they share our commitment to meaningful global impact.

George Clarke
Climate events are intensifying. How will your technologies help crops withstand extreme weather, and which breakthroughs are closest to commercial use?

Ross
Plants have already evolved to thrive in deserts, flood zones, cold regions, everything. The difference today is the speed of climate change. Crops do not have centuries to adapt. But the solutions exist in the evolutionary record.

Photosynthesis is a good example. Boosting photosynthetic efficiency does not just improve yield. It improves nitrogen and water use efficiency and boosts resilience to heat, drought and stress.

In our field trials across multiple countries, we already see early advantages. Plants that grow faster early in the season close their canopy sooner, retain moisture better, outcompete weeds and build a stronger buffer against weather shocks.

We also run targeted programs for specific stresses like drought tolerance in maize.

Below ground, our carbon removal programme is equally important. Roots represent the world's largest interface with the planet. If we enhance the ability of crops to store carbon below ground, we improve soil health, strengthen the plant and contribute to atmospheric carbon reduction at scale. That is a fundamental breakthrough if we get it right.

As for timelines, these traits are already showing results in trials but are not yet commercially available. Moving them into elite commercial varieties is happening now through our partners.

George Clarke
Soil health is another major topic. How does your approach help protect soil alongside traditional practices like rotation?

Ross
Even the Romans rotated crops. The concept is ancient. But balancing yield and soil restoration is the modern challenge.

We need to think in systems. Rather than focusing on a single trait or a single crop, we look at the entire rotation. Maybe the right cover crop can remove carbon, enrich soil and set up the next season for higher yield. It is about designing supportive sequences rather than isolated interventions.

The challenge is ensuring yield and sustainability do not fight each other. If you focus only on yield, you risk environmental damage. If you focus only on sustainability, you risk reducing food supply. But if you give farmers tools to achieve both, it becomes a reinforcing cycle. That is when you see real scalable change.

George Clarke
Awareness is growing as well. How important is public understanding of food systems?

Ross
It is vital. It feels like people are paying more attention now. Covid made the fragility of supply chains very clear. Seeing empty shelves made people think about where food actually comes from.

Shows like Clarkson Farm have also helped. They made farming accessible to viewers who had never considered its realities. You see the struggles, the regulations, the razor thin margins, the environmental responsibilities. It made the sector real for millions of people.

The more awareness there is, the easier it is to have serious conversations about how we improve farming and why it matters.

George Clarke
Looking ahead, what legacy do you want Wild BioScience and yourself to leave?

Ross
I like to picture it very concretely. I want to stand on a farm where our enhanced photosynthesis is delivering higher and more efficient yield and where the crop stays resilient during climate shocks. I also want to see carbon being stored below ground through our root traits. A system above and below ground working the way we designed it.

Speaking with the farmer on that land and hearing the impact it has had would be the most rewarding part.

Scaling across countries is essential. The best conversations we have are with growers already trialling our plants who say things like, I noticed this difference or what else can this trait do. That feedback tells you you’re making real progress.

To create lasting legacy, we need collaboration across the entire agricultural value chain. Climate variability means we must be more reactive than ever. If we build a system that rewards sustainable practice, we can achieve meaningful change at global scale.

George Clarke
Final question. When do you expect this full vision to be realised on commercial farms?

Ross
We are seeing early glimpses now in field trials, but those are not yet ready for commercial use. Over the next couple of years, we will move into elite varieties that farmers can plant. Country timelines will vary, but our goal is to have our full system operating on a commercial farm by the end of the decade.

George
Fantastic. I will be watching with great interest. Ross, thank you very much for your time.

George Clarke, Newsweek
Steven, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with Newsweek. Before we get into the detail, I would like to start with the big picture. Syngenta has said that AI is helping shorten the development journey for new crop protection products by as much as three years. How is that transformation actually happening inside your research and development organization, and what are the main challenges of embedding AI at this kind of scale?

Steven Hawkins, Syngenta
Thank you, George, it is great to speak with you and I am pleased that Newsweek is taking such a close interest in agriculture. At the end of the day, what we do is about supporting farmers and helping to feed the world, so it is an important conversation.

On AI, this is a fast-moving area, but it is not something we started yesterday. We began this journey in 2016. Like many major technology shifts, there is a long period when you are investing, building capability and integrating tools into your core processes before you see the really visible benefits. It takes time before it shows up clearly as better innovation or improved financial performance. Then you reach an acceleration point. That is where we feel we are now.

One clear example is molecular discovery, the part of the process where we identify the active ingredient that will sit at the heart of a crop protection product. If I think back to earlier in my career, you would walk into a research center and see almost a small assembly line. Scientists would be preparing and shooting tiny amounts of different compounds into test tubes, building micro samples of products based on their knowledge, experience and the data available at the time. It was an impressive effort but still very manual and constrained.

Today we can almost skip that first part. It is a little bit like what computer-aided design did for architects and mechanical engineers. We can feed specific inputs and requirements into large data models, and with the help of AI, the system will generate a wide range of possible molecular structures for us. These models are informed by many years of data, our internal databases, our experience curve and all the real products we already have in the market.

That leads into a second important area, which is simulation. Once the model proposes potential molecules, we can simulate how these candidates are likely to behave, not only against pests and diseases, which is the obvious part, but also in terms of environmental profile. How do they behave in different weather conditions? What is their likely impact on soil and water? How will they behave across different types of farming systems?

Traditionally, many candidates would fall out of the pipeline at a later stage because we only discovered some of those issues quite far into development. Now we can anticipate many of those factors earlier. The scale has changed completely. We are no longer talking about testing hundreds of thousands of candidates per year, but millions. That is the power of combining AI with deep scientific expertise.

Of course, there are challenges. You have to build very robust models and continually refine them. You need to ensure that your people trust the tools and understand their limits. You also need to integrate AI into regulatory processes and stewardship so that you are not just going faster, you are also going in the right direction. That integration of new tools into a very complex and highly regulated research system is not trivial. It has taken time, but the momentum now is very strong.

George Clarke
We have talked a lot in this project about higher yields with lower impact, and the importance of soil health. How does this all play out when you combine chemistry, biology and AI-driven digital tools. How do these elements come together to help farmers grow better crops, with better soil health, and ultimately better outcomes for their businesses.

Steven Hawkins
The most important thing is that the farmer feels the benefit in practical ways. The science and the technology in the background only matter if they translate into better choices and better results on the field.

What I described for crop protection also applies to seeds. In that case we are looking at different genes rather than different molecules, but the principle is similar. We can model and assess many possible combinations and then simulate how those combinations will perform in different environments. Will a particular variety be more effective in a hotter or more tropical climate? Will it cope better with stress? How will it perform in cooler or more temperate regions?

Because the tools are more efficient, we can consider many different attributes in parallel. That means we are not only optimizing for yield. We can build in resistance to particular diseases, performance under drought stress, a better environmental profile. The technology allows us to design and select for a much richer profile of benefits in the same time frame.

For the farmer, that ultimately shows up as a more accurate prescription. When we talk to growers, we can be much more precise about which seed variety, which crop protection product and which combination of practices is likely to work best in their situation. We can also consider how that solution fits into the wider crop management system, including harvest timing, days to maturity and the quality parameters they need for the market they serve.

So it is the speed and the scale of data processing that makes the big difference. The more high quality data we can bring into the models, the more nuanced and valuable the recommendations become. That combination of chemistry, biology and digital gives the farmer a set of tools that is both more powerful and more tailored to their particular conditions.

George Clarke
I would like to bring in CropWise, which is your flagship digital platform. Trust is a huge factor in farming. Farmers need to trust the next tool they adopt, the next service they subscribe to, as much as they trust the seed they plant or the product they spray. How does CropWise help farmers make better decisions in real time, and how do you build trust and adoption across very different regions and mindsets.

Steven Hawkins
That is a very important question. I grew up on a farm, I still have a farm and I have spent my entire career in agriculture. So I understand both the opportunities and the sensitivities. Farmers are often more sensitive about data and information than the general public, because this is their livelihood and in many cases their family heritage.

For us, the starting point is simple. It is the farmer’s data. When we work with a farmer, for instance on yield data from seed trials, there are clear protocols. The farmer agrees to share certain information, such as yield results, and in return we may help harvest trial plots or provide detailed analytics. We will then aggregate those results with data from other farms in the area, but always with the farmer’s explicit agreement and always without identifying any individual grower or farmer.

That principle carries over to digital tools like CropWise. If we aggregate data, we do so in a way that protects individual farmers and we seek their consent for what we do with their information. The farmer also gets value back from that aggregation because they can compare their own performance with broader benchmarks in their region.

Representation of the data is also crucial. We have to make sure that we present information in a way that is accurate and genuinely useful. That is especially important for smallholder farmers, who make up the majority of farmers globally. I was in Vietnam two weeks ago, and you see a common pattern there and in many other markets. The last-mile retailers who sell products to farmers are not always deeply trained in agronomy. As a result, the grower might not always receive the best possible recommendation.

With tools like CropWise, particularly in countries such as India where we are making strong progress, we can shift more control to the farmer. A grower can take a picture of a diseased plant with a phone, upload it to the system and CropWise will identify the disease or pest and suggest a range of options for treatment, including how to apply those products. The farmer can then walk into the retailer with a much clearer understanding of what they need.

To build trust, we rely on several pillars. One is our technical support teams in the field, who work directly with farmers and channel partners. Another is our brand and our long presence in these markets. In many countries we have been working with farming communities for several decades. That history matters. But trust is never automatic. It is something you have to earn every season and with every new technology you introduce.

George Clarke
Data is at the heart of this, and of course AI is now everywhere, in every industry. In farming there is the added pressure of climate risk and the constant need to build more resilience. How is Syngenta preparing farmers for emerging climate risks and helping them build that resilience, while also adapting as a company yourselves?

Steven Hawkins
Beyond the research activities I have mentioned, which are essential for getting products registered and proving their safety and performance to regulators, we invest heavily in what I would call “show-and-tell” with farmers.

Data and models are important, but farmers also need to see things with their own eyes. That is true everywhere in the world. We run very large programs where we invite farmers to demonstration sites. There we can show a wide range of seed varieties, crop protection products, integrated pest management programmes and biological solutions side by side under real conditions.

The goal is to replicate and simulate the kinds of scenarios they might face in their own geography. Sometimes that is about drought, sometimes about excessive rainfall, sometimes about disease or pest pressure. Agriculture is very different from something like human pharmaceuticals in this sense. Once you have a drug that works for a particular disease, that same treatment can often be used worldwide. In agriculture every field, every valley, every region can be different. We need very local solutions.

So we combine work on the farmer’s own land with these shared learning environments. In Asia alone we reached very large numbers of farmers with these activities last year. We do similar things in other regions too. All of this is about training, education and building confidence in practices that can increase productivity while reducing environmental impact and improving resilience.

George Clarke
Global food demand continues to rise. That is a daunting challenge but also a huge opportunity for collaboration across the agritech ecosystem. Where do you see the most promising opportunities for collaboration, and how is Syngenta positioning itself in that landscape.

Steven Hawkins
At a very simple level, our purpose is higher productivity with lower environmental impact. With the UN predicting that we will need to produce up to 50 percent more food by 2050 than we produced in 2012, we believe this is essential if we don’t want to cut any more forests to feed the world. To make that real, collaboration is essential.

Directly on the ground we work not only with farmers but also with their collaborators, particularly retailers and distributors who play a big role in many markets. They are often the ones in daily contact with growers, so raising their level of agronomic understanding is an important part of the puzzle.

We also actively partner with organizations outside the traditional commercial value chain. For example, we have collaborated with The Nature Conservancy in Brazil on a project called Reverte, which focuses on regenerative agriculture. These kinds of partnerships help us to stay close to broader societal expectations, to understand evolving trends and to test new approaches on the ground with credible independent partners.

Another major area is regulation. Ours is a fully regulated industry. Farmers need access to new technologies if they are to increase yields and manage risk in a sustainable way. That means we have to work closely with regulatory authorities around the world to ensure that rules are science based and predictable, and that they recognize both the risks and the benefits of innovation.

We have seen how different regional agendas can diverge. Europe has taken a particular path in recent years, and we are now seeing some of the consequences in terms of reduced production and increased imports. Food imports into the European Union have risen very significantly in a short period. It is not a great scenario if a region that has the capacity to produce a lot of its own food becomes more dependent on imports because it restricts access to technology at home. So part of our role, together with others in the industry and with farmers, is to engage in that policy dialogue in a constructive way.

George Clarke
I would like to finish on a more personal note. You have spent your life in agriculture and you still farm yourself. When you look back in years to come, what is the legacy you would like to leave behind.

Steven Hawkins
That is a thoughtful question, and I appreciate you asking it. For me the answer is actually quite straightforward.

I am from agriculture. I am a fifth-generation farmer from Canada. I have had the great privilege of working across all the major agricultural regions in the world. I have lived in Asia for around ten years, in Europe for a similar period, I have worked extensively in South America as well as in North America. So I have seen many different farming systems and many different realities.

It is always a struggle for farmers. They face volatile weather, price swings, policy changes and now the added pressures of climate change and higher expectations on sustainability. At the same time the technology has become more sophisticated. When I was young, or when I first started in this industry, the use rates for products were often measured in kilos or liters per acre. Now we are often talking about grams per acre. That gives you a sense of how much the science has advanced and how much it will continue to advance.

Farmers have a harder job today than in the past, and that trend will likely continue. If, through my work and through the teams I have been part of, we can help farmers to manage that journey, to stay productive, to protect their land and to feel confident that they can hand their farms on to the next generation, then that is a legacy I would be proud of. Supporting that mission of feeding the world in a way that is healthy and with as low an environmental impact as possible is, in my view, a very noble thing to contribute to.