Syngenta Thrive - 2Q/2013 - 26

RIPPLE EFFECT

HELPING OTHERS

Seeds of Hope
Syngenta partners with The Mama Ada Foundation to help growers
in Kenya work toward self-sufﬁciency.
By Lynn Grooms

he seeds planted last year in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province
produced hope as well as food for more than 100 hungry
families, thanks to a partnership between Syngenta and The
Mama Ada Foundation. Syngenta, which has been working
with the foundation for about a year, donated $10,000 to help
farmers buy seed in a part of the world that has been devastated by unusual weather conditions and a high rate of
HIV-AIDS, says Julie Keller, president of The Mama Ada
Foundation, based in Hopkins, Minn.

Kenya

The economy of the Rift Valley
Province is based on small-scale
farms that grow crops such as
maize, tea, coffee and saffron.

24 · thrive · 2Q /13

“Moving forward, Syngenta is looking to expand its
support to include agronomic and horticultural expertise
as well as other creative ways we can work together,” says
Shelley Olds, community engagement lead at Syngenta.
“Both Syngenta and The Mama Ada Foundation see food
security as a priority for our future. With The Mama Ada
Foundation headquartered near our ofﬁce in Minnetonka,
Minn., the partnership is a tangible way for us to live our
ambition to feed the world.”
The foundation takes its name from “Mama” Ada Kuto,
a Kenya native who traveled to Minnesota to visit relatives
in 2004. While there, she attended St. David’s Episcopal
Church and talked about her home community of Ziwa.
She invited her American friends to “come to Kenya and
meet my people.”
After traveling to her community, Mama Ada’s American
friends decided to do something to alleviate hunger and
formed the nonproﬁt organization in her name, Keller
explains. In addition to providing seed, the foundation
provides tuition funds and entrepreneurial opportunities
for people in the Rift Valley Province.
“Food is such a basic need. I’ve seen ﬁrsthand that once
people have something to eat, they have more energy and
time to focus on other things,” Keller says. “And being able
to produce their own food gives them dignity and hope.”
Syngenta is looking to expand its partnership with the
foundation in 2013 and beyond, Olds says. “Our hope is
that our employees will continue to embrace The Mama
Ada Foundation, and together we’ll have shared conversation and collaboration, which will develop into deep
relationships across the globe.”

Ziwa
# Nairobi

FOR MORE INFORMATION on The Mama Ada
Foundation, please visit www.mamaadafoundation.org.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MAMA ADA FOUNDATION

Syngenta Thrive - 2Q/2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Syngenta Thrive - 2Q/2013