Food Defense and Agriculture Security Community

This is a recording of a "fireside chat" between FD&A Steering Committee Vice Chair @Joseph Schmeer and @Greg Leimone, Global Head - People, Site Security & Crisis Management of Syngenta Group, and author of “Securing the Harvest by Building Resilience in Modern Agriculture” (Security Management, July 2026) focusing on the importance of resilience in the agricultural sector and its role as critical infrastructure. Greg discussed the misconception of agriculture not being seen as critical infrastructure and explained the concept of "polycrisis", highlighting how interconnected and complex risks are in modern agriculture. He emphasized the shift from protection to resilience, urging security leaders to act as the adhesive connecting various functions for better crisis management. The conversation covered challenges such as resource constraints, cultural and language barriers in global operations, and the need to demonstrate security's value as a business enabler rather than a cost center. The discussion also touched on the importance of collaboration with other departments and external agencies, and the use of data and metrics to support business cases for security enhancements.