What is Monsanto Doing to Help?

Producing more.

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.