The challenges we face in growing food – an expanding population, climate change, finite resources – impact all of us today, and could shape our lives and our quality of life in the years to come. The math is simple:  we need to feed two billion more people by 2050. How we do it in a manner that also sustains our environment is a more complex equation. 

I believe that we can address these societal challenges, but we’ll need to work together to shape the future of both our food supply and our planet. Net Impact is an ideal forum for this very important dialogue, bringing together different viewpoints to help us move toward holistic solutions. I’m looking forward to representing Monsanto at the upcoming Net Impact conference and to productive collaboration with other experts covering the spectrum of the food and agriculture industry.

Producing More Food Sustainably

The world population continues to grow. We need to grow more food to support these people, but we also need to preserve our environment. These are issues that will impact farmers all around the world, and Monsanto and others in the public and private sectors are collaborating to find solutions to these global challenges. Whether you’re a farmer in Minnesota planting crops on thousands of acres or a smallholder farmer in Africa growing food for a small village, getting the most food from every acre of farmland is a top priority.

How do we accomplish this? Today’s farmers have a range of tools in their toolkits, from plant breeding and biotechnology to advanced data tools and more efficient equipment.

Breeding and biotechnology are methods to improve seeds to produce strong, healthy plants that are resistant to disease and can stand up to tough environmental conditions, such as drought. Breeding and biotechnology are used – together and separately – to produce the best seeds possible for farmers.  

Farm management practices also play a key role in getting the most from crops. Today’s farmers are more efficient and precise in almost everything they do, ranging from proper tillage (when and how a farmer ploughs his field) to planting depth (how deep to plant the seed) and planting population (how many plants in a row to plant and how far apart to plant them). All of these factors combine to help in producing more food. Advanced data management tools help farmers to plan and optimize all of these elements, ensuring that the right seed is planted, in the right place, at the right time, to maximize both productivity and efficiency.

Advanced equipment and practices also help us to make the most of precious natural resources. Many people do not know that about 70 percent of the planet’s fresh water is used for agriculture today. More efficient irrigation techniques, data management tools and drought-tolerant seeds are all helping farmers to use fresh water more efficiently.

Partnering With Others to Overcome Challenges

Producing more food, more efficiently, has a dramatic impact on people around the world. For a smallholder farmer in West Africa, improved technology can mean the difference between a child going to school or staying home to help with farm activities. Public-private partnerships like Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), which is delivering drought-tolerant seed to smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, are making a tremendous difference. 

The challenges we face in growing enough food are significant. No single company or organization will ever have all of the answers. We work every day with farmers, universities, governments, and other organizations to help drive the necessarily wide range of advances needed. It takes everyone working together on a wide variety of solutions to provide the food we need today and for the future, while conserving the planet’s precious resources.

I look forward to engaging with the Net Impact community and continuing this conversation at the conference. Join me on Saturday, November 8, at 9:00 a.m. during the keynote panel Debating the Future of Food with Dr. M. Jahi Chappell of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and moderated by Marc Gunther, Editor-at-Large, Guardian Sustainable Business US.

About Natalie 

As Vice President of Sustainability and Signature Partnerships, Natalie leads Monsanto’s sustainability efforts, including processes to embed sustainability principles throughout the company, the development of sustainability goals and commitments related to Monsanto’s business, and sustainability reporting through the Global Reporting Initiative and other tools. Her team also leads the development of public-private partnerships working with civil society, research institutions, and others to fight hunger and improve nutrition security, to protect natural resources and to improve the livelihood of farmers around the world through the adoption of improved agricultural systems. 

Natalie received her B.A. in Biology and Environmental Biology from St. Mary’s College in 1989 and her Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995.