Forget everything you think you know about food. While it is popular nowadays to demonize modern agriculture and promote a vision for farming and food production that revolves around small farms and artisanal methods, companies such as Monsanto are using modern technology to improve agriculture in ways that provide benefits to farmers, consumers and society as a whole. Contrary to popular myths, this is not (all) about biotechnology!

1. What is sustainable agriculture?
Brandon Mitchener
UCL ResearchTalks “Planet, what’s up with my food?”
May 13, 2013

2. Overview
• The world we live in
• Our vision
• Who we are
• What we do
2

3. Global population continues to grow, expected to reach
~10 billion by mid-century – mostly in developing world
Global Population
2050 8 – 10.5 billion
2100 6.25 – 16 billion
Source: UN; US Census Bureau

4. Higher living standards lead to changing diets (mostly not
vegan)

5. 5
66 – 85 million hectares of land
at current yields
36 million tons of
annual meat production
177 million tons of annual
corn and soy production
In the next 10 years the world
will require an additional…

6. Water is scarce. Agriculture consumes most of it.
Future demand will outstrip supply, especially in Asia.
6Source: Water 2030 Global Water Supply and Demand model; agricultural production based on IFPRI IMPACT-WATER base case
3.003
4.531
3.534
693
1.531
688512
843
Basins with
surplus
Domestic
6,906
81
4,222
Basins with
deficits
Agriculture
Industry
Planned
supply 2030
4,208
2005
demand1
2030
demand2
2,765
Groundwater
Surface water
2.0%
Billion m3, 154 basins/regions
- 40%

7. Global warming is real…
7
Source: NASA

8. ...and makes harvests less predictable: Much of
Europe saw severe drought conditions in 2012
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9. World grain supplies are already historically low
and will provide little relief if more harvests fail
9
Source: IGC

10. So what is sustainable agriculture?
Assuming that different production methods are equally
safe and the resulting food is healthy and nutritious…
• Is agriculture more sustainable if it
– Uses less land, or more land?
– Uses less water, or more water?
– Requires fewer chemicals, or more chemicals?
– Requires less tillage, or more tillage?
– Results in less waste, or more waste?
– Results in more stable yields, or less stable yields?
– Results in more affordable food, or more expensive food?
10

11. French school children are taught that
there are only two kinds of agriculture
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Source: My 14-year-old son’s homework

12. Monsanto’s vision of sustainable agriculture
• Producing more
• Conserving
more
• Improving lives
12 Monsanto Company Confidential

13. A company100% dedicated to agriculture
The old Monsanto
Business areas in 1975
Monsanto today
Business areas in 2012
Agriculture
Chimie industrielle
polymères
Textiles
autres
Source : Rapport annuel Monsanto 2012
semences et traits
protection des
cultures

14. Monsanto in Europe – a leader in conventional
(e.g. non-biotech) seeds and crop protection
$7.367
$1.716
$1.588
$837
$873
$541 $385 $197
FY2012 Net Sales (in Millions)
US
EMEA
Brazil
Asia-Pacific
Argentina
Canada
Mexico
Other
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Source: 2012 annual report

15. What We Do: Serve Farmers Around The World
Working With Growers Large And Small, Row Crops And Vegetables

16. Maximizing yield potential takes a system of solutions
CHALLENGE:
Breeding Biotech
Agronomic
Solutions
WEED
CONTROL
INSECT
CONTROL
STRESS
TOLERANCE
DISEASE
CONTROL
OPPORTUNITY:
Multiple R&D platforms = Multiple Solutions
In between the planting and
harvesting of a crop, a lot of
factors can limit yield. Maximizing
Total Yield
Potential
TOTAL YIELD

17. Integrated Farming Systems: Unlocking Farm
Data to Drive Yields to the Next Level
PRECISION
SEEDING
Planter systems
enabling variable
rate seeding &
row spacing on a
field by yield
environment
zone
VARIABLE-RATE
FERTILITY
Variable rate N, P & K
“Apps” aligned with yield
management zones
FERTILITY &
DISEASE
MANAGEMENT
“Apps” for in-season
custom application of
supplemental late
Nitrogen and
Fungicides
YIELD MONITOR
Advances in Yield
Monitoring to deliver
higher resolution data
BREEDING
Significant
increases in
data points
collected per
year to
increase
annual genetic
gains
DATABASE BACKBONE
Expansive seed by environment
testing makes on-farm
prescriptions possible
USER INTERFACE
Integrated user-friendly
interface and “Apps”

18. Modern Technology Requires Modern Policies
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19. Thank you