June 6, 2008

 

Monsanto to double soy and corn yields with less input resources

   

  

Monsanto promised Wednesday that it would introduce by 2030 corn and soy varieties that would have double the yields of current varities and would require 30 percent less water, land and energy to grow.

 

The company made the announcement as world leaders met in Rome to discuss rising food prices and growing food shortages.

 

Monsanto said it had consulted farmers, political leaders, academics and advocacy groups on ways to increase food production without converting more forests into farmland.

 

The company's goal of doubling yields by 2030 over levels in 2000 might require a sharp acceleration in the rate by which agricultural productivity has been increasing.

 

James E. Specht, a soy genetics expert at the University of Nebraska, said he doubted it could be done.

 

Specht explained that on irrigated farms in Nebraska, soy yields have been increasing by about 0.6 bushels an acre every year. At that rate, it would take 83 years for yields to double from the 50 bushels an acre recorded in 2000.

 

Yet Monsanto executives say that a new technique called marker-assisted selection could double the rate of gain made from breeding.

 

The uses genetic tests to help choose which plants to use in conventional cross-breeding, which speeds up the process.

 

Monsanto executives say genetic engineering could provide additional increases in output beyond that.

 

On Tuesday, the US secretary of agriculture, Edward Schafer, said biotechnology would be essential if the world was to increase food supply by 2030 to meet rising demand.

 

Monsanto's shares fell by US$1.54, to close at US$131.60 Wednesday. Yet the company stock has more than doubled in the last year, in parton soaring crop prices.