Full Version - Water for Food Institute - University of Nebraska

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GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON WATER FOR FOOD 2
Speakers
A System Approach to Water Productivity
Robert T. Fraley
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto Company
Although many people still have a pastoral view
of agriculture, unprecedented modern technologies
will meet the growing demand for food, Robert
T. Fraley said. He described important advances in
agronomic practices, breeding and biotechnology
research occurring today in U.S. corn production.
Monsanto Company has committed itself to
achieving sustainable agriculture and serving
growers. Part of that commitment includes
helping farmers double yields in corn, cotton,
soybeans and spring-planted canola by
2030 – and do so with one-third fewer inputs
per unit of output.
For U.S. corn, Monsanto’s goal is to raise yields
from today’s 137 bushels per acre to 300
bushels per acre by 2030. Such gains won’t be
accomplished with a simple technique or
method but through advances in biotechnology
and breeding, as well as systemic improvements
in agronomic techniques.
“It’s important that this technology benefits all
farmers,” Fraley said, from large-scale U.S.
growers to smallholder farmers across Africa and
Asia. “We can see these tools improve their lives,
their profitability and their cultures and societies.”
In 1970, the year Fraley left his family’s farm,
his father was thrilled that corn yield averages
hit 75 bushels per acre. Today, technology
powers record yields – more than 160 bushels
per acre. “In 2030, we’ll look back at how
we’re growing corn today the same way we
Robert T. Fraley
kind of laugh when we look at how we did
it in the 1970s. We’re going to experience the
greatest explosion in the advancement of
agricultural technology that the world’s ever
seen,” Fraley said.
If productivity gains continue along the historical
trend line, average U.S. corn yields will reach
200 bushels by 2030. However, improvements
in agronomic practices, such as fertilizer
technologies and seed treatments, as well as
advances in breeding using new genetic tools,
will increase yearly baseline gains slightly. New
biotechnology traits will drive gains even further
to the goal of 300 bushels per acre.
Inputs are an important part of the equation.
Since 1970, new technologies have resulted in the
steady use of nitrogen and a dramatic reduction
in pesticide use. Going forward, rainfall and
chemicals will remain steady, and fertilizer
use will rise slightly with increased yields. It’s