The Economist conference on “Feeding the World: Asia’s prospect of plenty” takes place on September 27, 2012 in Hong Kong. Monsanto is participating in this inaugural event. We are committed to working with farmers around the world and partnerships are a key component of addressing the challenges of feeding a growing population.
To learn more about Monsanto’s overall commitment to sustainable agriculture, visitimproveagriculture.com. Find additional information on the Economist Conference as well as, “The 9 billion-people question,” a special report on Feeding the World.
In order to feed the world's growing population, farmers must produce more food in the next fifty years than they have in the past 10,000 years combined.
We are working to double yields in our core crops by 2030. These yield gains will come from a combination of advanced plant breeding, biotechnology, and improved farm-management practices
Our goal
We’re working to double the yields of corn, soybeans, cotton and spring-planted canola between 2000 and 2030. The world population continues to grow and at the same time there is a limited amount of land that’s suitable for agricultural production. To meet the needs of the booming population we have to be more productive with our crops.
How will we double yields?
We say we’re working to double yields in our core crops by 2030 using breeding, biotechnology and improved farm-management practices but what does that really mean? When we talk about breeding and biotechnology we’re really talking about improving seeds. We’re working to bring better seeds to market, seeds that produce strong, healthy plants that are resistant to disease and can stand up to tough environmental conditions.
Improving seeds
We use both breeding and biotechnology – together and separately – to produce the best seeds possible. Our breeding program allows us to use the best lines of seeds to produce the next generation. We use biotechnology to give plants beneficial characteristics beyond what can be done with traditional breeding.
Improved farm-management practices
In order to produce more farmers need tools to help them get the most from their land. We’re working to get farmers the technology and know how they need so they can give their crops the best chance to reach their highest potential. Farm management practices range from everything from proper tillage (when and how a farmer ploughs his field), to planting depth (how deep to plant the seed), and planting population (how many plants in a row to plant and how far apart to plant them). All of these factors play a role in producing more food.
To keep up with demand, experts predict we will need 300 million acres of additional farmland brought into crop production by 2030.
That’s roughly equal to the current cropland area of the United States and China combined.
Our goal
At Monsanto we’ve pledged to conserve resources through developing seeds that use one-third fewer key resources per unit of output to grow crops while working to lessen habitat loss and improve water quality. It’s all about keeping up with demand responsibly.
How do you reduce the nutrients, water, and energy need to grow crops today?
It all comes down to using our resources more efficiently by developing plants that maximize the use of their inputs and by using agronomic practices to use the right amount of resources in the right spot and at just the right time. We’re doing this by focusing on water-use efficiency, nitrogen use, and maintaining soil health.
Working with water
Water is the single most limiting factor for crop production. Water use and availability will be one of the most important resource constraints farmers face as they work to meet unprecedented demand for agricultural products in the next 40 years.
Our products help farmers maintain the integrity and productivity of their soil by enabling conservation tillage. Conservation tillage, leaving the previous year’s plant residue in the field, helps reduce soil erosion and improves water retention in the soil. We’re also working on products that can withstand drought conditions and we’ve built the Water Utilization Learning Center at Gothenburg, NE, to help farmers understand how to more efficiently use water in their operations.
Maintaining soil health
Every field has unique soil characteristics. We are developing a system to provide farmers with science-based information on seed selection, planting densities and nutrient application for their specific field requirements. Using field-specific soil models, we will offer information that can assist farmers in selecting the best product mix and the best management practices for their field. More precise input applications can help farmers conserve more of the resources that are essential to their success.
Using nitrogen more efficiently
At Monsanto we are working on developing seed products that improve crop yields under normal nitrogen conditions and stabilize yields under low-nitrogen conditions. We’re hoping to help increase efficiency of nitrogen-based fertilizers so that more is used by the crop and less is left in the soil to form greenhouse gases or runoff into waterways.
Making progress
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