St. Louis, Missouri
June 4, 2008
Monsanto Company today announced a three-point commitment to
help increase global food production in the face of growing
demand, limited natural resources and a changing climate. It
pledged to work in new partnerships with other businesses,
citizen groups and governments to meet one of the greatest
challenges of the 21st century.
"Agriculture intersects the toughest challenges we all face on
the planet," said Hugh Grant, chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Monsanto, in announcing the commitment to
help address the needs of a global population expected to reach
nine billion people by 2050. "Together, we must meet the needs
for increased food, fiber and energy while protecting the
environment.
In short, the world needs to produce more while conserving
more."
"As an agricultural company focused on increasing crop yields,
we will do our part," he said. "But it will also require the
efforts of a diverse group of organizations with many points of
view to work together and take action to address the daunting
challenges facing us all."
Monsanto's three-point commitment to growing yields sustainably
includes:
- Develop better seeds -
Monsanto will double yield in its three core crops of corn,
soybeans and cotton by 2030, compared to a base year of
2000. The company will also establish a $10 million grant
designed to
accelerate breakthrough public sector research in wheat and
rice yield.
- Conserve resources -
Monsanto will develop seeds that will reduce by one-third
the amount of key resources required to grow crops by the
year 2030. The company will also join with others to address
habitat loss and water quality in agriculturally important
areas.
- Help improve farmers'
lives - The company will help improve the lives of farmers,
including an additional five million people in resource-poor
farm families by 2020.
"We're undertaking this initiative
after engaging many of our farmer customers, policymakers,
scientists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and experts in
academia and industry. We asked them what agriculture must do to
become more sustainable, and our commitment reflects how we will
put their advice into action," Grant said.
In discussing the challenges faced by agriculture, Grant noted
that the world faces significant food price inflation for the
first time in decades, driven largely by the demand for
higher-protein diets in such countries as China and India and
energy prices that have quadrupled over the past five years.
Experts say it will be necessary to produce as much food between
now and 2050 as has been produced in the last 10,000 years. As
agriculture uses 70 percent of the world's fresh water and more
than half of the habitable land, much of the production increase
must come from increased crop yields.
Concern over climate change has also increased, with experts
noting that the eight warmest years on record have all occurred
in the last decade.
Grant said the quality of life for the world's one billion
farmers is an important part of this equation. This includes
both commercial farmers and the tens of millions of
resource-poor farmers who survive on less than $2 per day.
Grant said Monsanto spends an average of more than $2 million a
day on agricultural research. Yet he noted that partnerships
with others are essential to developing and delivering
approaches to these global challenges.
Examples of what Monsanto will undertake to achieve its
three-point commitment include the following:
Develop better seeds
Monsanto's research program centers on increasing yields for
three key crops used for food, feed, fiber and fuel - corn,
soybeans and cotton. The company's research pipeline uses more
precise breeding techniques to develop higher-yielding
germplasm. Other technologies result in plant traits that
provide better protection against pests and better weed control.
Monsanto's objective under this new commitment is to double
yield for these three crops by 2030 in countries where farmers
have access to current and anticipated new seed choices offered
by the company.
This would mean, for example, that corn production in the
prominent agricultural markets of Argentina, Brazil and the
United States would reach a weighted average of 220 bushels per
acre by 2030, compared to 109.1 bushels per acre in 2000.
Soybean production in those countries would rise from a weighted
average of 39.5 bushels per acre in 2000 to 79 bushels per acre
in 2030. Cotton would increase from 1.4 bales (672 pounds) per
acre to 2.8 bales
(1,344 pounds) per acre.
Monsanto will establish a five-year, $10 million grant for rice
and wheat research to be administered by a panel of world
experts on food production in developing countries. Rice and
wheat are key crops for food security, but are not a primary
focus for the company. The chairperson of this panel will be
named in the near future. A panel of independent judges will
select one project per year to receive a $2 million grant.
Further details on this program will be developed and announced
in the coming months.
Conserve resources
Monsanto's research pipeline includes new corn, soybeans and
cotton products that will result in more production per unit of
land, and reduced use of energy, fertilizer and water per unit
produced. Monsanto will track the progress of its products
toward the goal of reducing by one-third the cumulative amount
of key resources like land, water and energy required per unit
of output.
Monsanto will also undertake a series of partnerships that will
address key environmental issues associated with agriculture.
Help improve farmers' lives
The third element in Monsanto's commitment is to improve the
lives of farmers, including smallholder and resource-poor
farmers. Part of this commitment is offering products that
increase productivity and reduce the risks of farming, such as
fewer inputs to manage insects, weeds and other yield-robbing
stresses.
The availability of these new commercial products can help. In
India, for example, the use of insect-protected cotton increased
yields by more than 50 percent and profits to farmers by more
than US$250 per hectare, according to third-party studies.
In special circumstances for resource-poor farmers, Monsanto
also is committed to sharing its expertise in a way that gives
them access to modern agricultural technology.
For example, one of the first of these projects was announced in
March, a collaboration with the
African Agricultural
Technology Foundation (AATF), the
International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Monsanto to develop
drought-tolerant maize for Africa that will be made available to
farmers royalty-free.
The AATF is leading this project in which Monsanto and CIMMYT
are donating unique germplasm and technology expertise. In
addition, Monsanto is contributing breeding tools and the same
water-use efficiency genes being developed for commercial global
markets. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G.
Buffett Foundation are providing funding for product testing and
development in Africa. Government researchers from Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa are also playing a key role in
this public-private partnership called Water Efficient Maize for
Africa (WEMA).
Among other partnerships, Monsanto will also work with public
institutions to develop products for non-commercial crops that
are important in some world areas, including cassava, cowpea and
papaya.
"These commitments represent the beginning of a journey that we
will expand on and deepen in the years ahead. We will report on
our progress as we engage our entire organization in this
effort," Grant said.
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a leading global provider of
technology- based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. |
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