Transcript ZAMBIA QUE VADIS! - Disaster risk reduction

Future trends of commercial agriculture in this
region.
Elizabeth Mranda
20th February 2014
Scope
Who we are
Monsanto’s focus
Our brands
Why agriculture needs improvement
Vision for agriculture
What Monsanto is doing to help
Partnerships and projects
Who we are
Monsanto is a sustainable agriculture company. We deliver agricultural
products that support farmers all around the world.
We are focused on empowering farmers—large and small—to produce more from their
land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and
energy. We do this with our leading seed brands in crops like corn, cotton, oilseeds
and fruits and vegetables. We also produce leading in-the-seed trait technologies for
farmers, which are aimed at protecting their yield, supporting their on-farm
efficiency and reducing their on-farm costs.
Monsanto could not exist without farmers. They are our customers--the
lifeblood of our company. More important, they are the support system of the
world's economy, working day in and day out to feed, clothe and provide
energy for our world.
Monsanto is 100% focused on agriculture
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based tools and
agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.
Our Mission
We work to deliver agricultural products and
solutions to:
• Meet the world’s growing food needs
• Conserve natural resources
• Protect the environment
“We succeed when farmers succeed.”
-Hugh Grant, Monsanto CEO
Our Brands in Central and East Africa
Seed & traits
Vegetables Seeds
Weed controls
Why does agriculture need to be improved?
Growing population = growing challenges
Agriculture provides the food, fiber and energy that helps propel human activity
around the world.
Agriculture provides much more than food. It also provides livelihoods – not just
for farmers, but for everyone involved in the value chain, including those who
sell, process, transport, market, and eventually consume the many products that
emerge as a result of the seeds the farmer plants, tends and harvests.
That is the exponential
value agriculture brings to
humanity – the value
farmers everywhere have
always brought to the
places they live and grow.
cont
Yet, subsistence and smallholder farmers are some of the poorest people in
the world. Nearly 1 billion people go hungry every day, and half of the hungry
are farmers.
Increasing the amount of food has always been a struggle, and each era in
history has seen its own innovations and setbacks. Today’s major challenge is
for agriculture to produce much more with fewer resources. For example,
many regions experience water and resource scarcity, while agriculture
accounts for 70 percent of water use on the planet.
Rapid population growth demands that farmers must double their production
by the year 2050 to keep up with the nearly 10 billion people who will inhabit
our planet. By then, the planet will require 70 percent more food than it does
today.
It’s clear that the world needs a New Vision for Agriculture
Vision for Agriculture
But it’s important to note: the world doesn’t just need more food.
It also needs better food that’s more nutritious.
And it needs to find ways to make the process of growing food more efficient
and aligned with our environmental needs, so farmers use less water and
land, and better utilize things like fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides
What is Monsanto doing to help?
1)
Producing More:
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
 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.
 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.
What is Monsanto doing to help?
2) Conserving More
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
Maintaining soil health
Every field has unique soil characteristics. We are developing systems to provide farmers with
science-based information on seed selection, planting densities and nutrient application for their
specific field requirements. We offer information that can assist farmers in selecting the best product
mix and the best management practices for their field
To keep up with demand, experts predict we will need 300 million acres of additional
farmland brought into crop production by 2030
Monsanto Activities in CE Africa
Green house
farming
Nursery
Management
Farmer Field
Farmer
training
Shows and
exhibitions
Our commitment
We’re committed to developing technologies that enable farmers to produce
more while conserving more of the natural resources that are essential to
their success.
We Know we can't do it alone. That's why our products and innovations are
all the result of collaborations with farmers and agricultural experts in both
the public and private sector.
There's no "right answer." That's why we value the input of
individuals and organizations with different perspectives
Helping improve the lives of farmers and the people who
depend on them
Partnerships and Projects
In order to produce more, conserve more and improve lives, we partner with
farmers, local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s),
universities and other stakeholders with diverse approaches to positively
impact agriculture and the world.
 Work
with other private organisation in projects in Tanzania , Kenya on field days
 Work
with NGOs to introduce greenhouse farming
 Trials
and demonstrations with farmers and the ministry staff
Thank you