New technologies key to agri productivity, says Monsanto exec
Investment in new technologies will be essential in boosting agricultural development and in increasing farmers’ productivity in Asia, including the Philippines, an executive of agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology firm Monsanto.
During his recent visit to the Philippines, Yong Gao Ph.D., Monsanto director of Corporate Engagement in Asia and Africa, said developing countries such as the Philippines should continuously invest in agricultural research and development, such as developing drought and climate-resilient seeds, bringing crop protection technologies, and using best practices in fertilizer use and animal care.
Gao said continuous investment in developing new seed products, more commonly known as GMOs, is especially crucial for the Philippines to improve the country’s food security.
He noted that since the adoption of Bt corn more than a decade ago, the Philippines has become one of the largest corn planting countries in the world, attaining huge improvement in corn yield.
Gao said that agriculture today faces multiple yet interconnected challenges: it has to produce more for an increasing population, while finding efficient ways to grow food and adapt to climate change.
In Asia alone, population is expected to grow from 4.2 billion to 5.9 billion by 2050. As population and incomes rise around the world, so does the demand for livestock products and other highvalue foods.
He cited the Global Harvest Initiative report that compels global agricultural productivAn ity to grow by an average rate of at least 1.75 percent annually to double agricultural output through productivity by 2050.
While the global average growth rate is close to the target (1.66 percent), the productivity growth rate in low-income countries continues to decline from 1.5 percent (2015) to 1.24 percent this year.
“Experts agree that we will need to grow as much food in the next 50 years as we did in the past 10,000 years combined. We believe however that the future growth of agriculture should be driven by science and technological innovations as farmers seek to optimize their harvests, while operating within a number of resource and climate related constraints,” Gao said.
From 2000 to 2011, the country recorded a 1.23 ton per hectare national corn yield improvement, after agricultural giants Argentina (1.27 tons/ ha), Brazil (1.55 tons/ha), US (1.77 tons/ha) and South Africa (1.88 tons/ha).
Aside from continuous innovation, Gao also encouraged the country to improve traditional farming methods by adopting modern growing tools.
He shared some advanced field-tracking tools that can benefit the Philippines such as plant sensors and weather satellites that are already being used in some parts of the US. These instruments measure and analyze all the interactions happening on the field, including soil moisture, rainfall, plant health, and temperatures, which in turn help farmers make informed decisions.
Gao said countries that embrace a more open and collaborative policy and regulation which attract international investment and collaboration would benefit their agriculture development and competitiveness.
“The challenges facing us are too huge for any single country to tackle, hence, international collaboration and cross-border investment are becoming increasingly important to the sustainable development and prosperity of global agriculture,” Gao said.
Monsanto is a Fortune 500 global power company with a diverse portfolio of advanced biotechnology products produced in 404 facilities in 66 countries. It has four facilities spread out across the Philippines which includes its head office in Alabang, a Refuge-in-a-Bag (RIB) plant and cold warehouse located in Bulacan, and an R&D station in Mindanao.
The company also has partnerships with the Philippine government through the Department of Agriculture as well as the local scientific and academic communities in the promotion of modern agricultural biotechnology.
Monsanto is committed to bringing a broad range of solutions to help nourish a growing world. It produces seeds for fruits, vegetables and key crops – such as corn, soybeans, sorghum, canola and cotton – that help farmers have better harvests while using water and other important resources more efficiently.
It helps find sustainable solutions for soil health, helps farmers use data to improve farming practices and conserve natural resources, and provides crop protection products to minimize damage from pests and disease.
Through programs and partnerships, Monsanto collaborates with farmers, researchers, nonprofit organizations, universities and others to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.