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“Clearly, the area that needs this technology the
most is Africa,” he said. “I believe that there’s
both the opportunity and the need to bring
technology that can have tremendous benefit
there.” The challenges are more complex than
agriculture and technology can solve; it will
require policy and infrastructure. “But I also
believe at the very core, if we can bring in
technology that increases yield, that increases
profitability, that increases base food security,
that it can improve lives.”
Monsanto has partnered with the International
Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
(CIMMYT) and several African institutions to
bring biotechnology to Africa in an effort
funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mature corn
The goal of the full-systems approach is to
bring targeted genetics and hybrids to Africa,
including drought- and insect-control traits.
To date, results of drought-protected corn have
been comparable to results in the U.S., Fraley
said. “Our goal is literally within five or six
years of the launch of this technology in the U.S.
that we will be able to bring this technology into
Africa,” he concluded.
Proceedings of the 2010 Water for Food Conference 59