We work to balance agricultural productivity with societal demands for food, fuel and fiber and with the optimal use of environmental resources through solutions that help farmers grow crops more efficiently.
Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
Climate change is already directly impacting agriculture and continues to be one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. As a company entirely devoted to agriculture, we are particularly attuned to the potential effects of climate change including drought, extreme heat, severe weather events, rising sea levels, shifting pest infestations, compromised harvests and flooding.
Monsanto develops sustainable agronomic systems that include highly productive hybrids and varieties that enable farmers to produce more crops from existing farmland while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per acre of land and per bushel produced. These production systems can reduce or eliminate the need for tillage, which increases the ability of the soil to store and maintain carbon. Data analytics and precision agriculture techniques enable farmers to more precisely apply fertilizer, use fuel and water more efficiently, and maximize productivity from existing land. These are all components of carbon neutral farming.
Pursuing Carbon Neutrality
We are pursuing a multi-pronged approach to carbon neutrality. We’re striving to improve the GHG intensity of our crop protection business, investing in technologies that help us use energy more efficiently. We’ve established an internal carbon price, and we’re collaborating on approaches to increase farmer adoption of carbon neutral crop production. (Pages 60-62)