Monsanto Seeks Big Increase in Crop Yields
Monsanto recently announced that they are pledging to develop crops that will hopefully double the yield of corn, soybeans and cotton by 2030. The announcement was made at a meeting in Rome where world leaders were discussing rising food prices and growing food shortages. The biotechnology company is also pledging to waive the royalty fees for the development of drought-tolerant corn in Africa.
C.S. Prakash
Monsanto Seeks Big Increase in Crop Yields
New York Times
June 5, 2008
Monsanto, the leader in agricultural biotechnology, pledged Wednesday to develop seeds that would double the yields of corn, soybeans and cotton by 2030 and would require 30 percent less water, land and energy to grow.
The announcement, coming as world leaders are meeting in Rome to discuss rising food prices and growing food shortages, appears to be aimed at least in part at winning acceptance of genetically modified crops by showing that they can play a major role in feeding the world.
Much of what is in the commitment are things the company was doing anyway. But Monsanto’s chief executive, Hugh Grant, said in an interview Wednesday that the company wanted to make the goals public “so this isn’t just a bound report on some library shelf.” He said it was only coincidence that the announcement was made at the same time as the meeting in Rome.
Monsanto said it had developed its commitment after consulting farmers, political leaders, academics and advocacy groups as to what needed to be done to increase food production without converting more forests into farmland or increasing pollution.
It is a matter of debate how much genetic engineering, which involves adding bacterial or other foreign genes to the DNA of plants, could contribute to improving output.
