MONSANTO COMPANY DOING

BUSINESS IN INDIA
Submitted by: Manimala Paul, Bharti Khurana, Ridham
Gupta & Rajnandan Kumar
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The Monsanto Company is a U.S company
Based on multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation.
It is a sustainable agriculture company which provides agricultural
products that supports farmers all over the world.
Founded at St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. in 1901
John F. Queeny founds the original Monsanto. The first product of that
company was saccharine.
Chairman: Hugh Grant
Headquarters are at Creve Coeur, Missouri, U.S.


CONTINUED
Monsanto India Limited (MIL) - a subsidiary of the
Monsanto Company, USA
MIL started Indian operation in 1949
Mil focus is on Maize Cultivation and Agricultural
productivity
Two famous products of MIL are:
DEKALB (Maize Seed)
Roundup (Herbicide)

EVOLVING AGRICULTURE PRACTICE IN INDIA
-Agriculture is major occupation in India 143
HH
-13%-20% contribution in the GDP
-1950 to 1980 saw huge change in
agriculture practises
-In 1988 New Seed Development Policy
Issues faced: difficulty in attracting
& retaining experienced
professionals
MONSANTO CORPORATE
STRATEGY
Earlier Monsanto was mainly focussed on agricultural
and chemicals product [seeds, herbicides]
But in 1980s there was a shift in the focus of the
company to biotechnology products
In 1996, company got a breakthrough in marketing
biotech seeds
Monsanto decided to emphasize more on Sustainable
Agriculture in the coming years
Sustainability
Planet
People Profit
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Profit
By increasing the production
People
By educating the farmers
(nutrient cycling, nitrogen
fixation, renewable inputs)
Planet
By saving the soil and crops
from harmful chemicals
Sustainability
Profit + People + Planet
EXPANDING BIOTECH CAPABILITIES
CORN SOYABEAN
COTTON CANOLA
Monsanto, in June 2008, announced its
3 sustainable commitments;
Increase global food production
Efficient use of natural resources
Development of seeds according to
changing environment
Monsanto investing 10% of sales in R&D whereas other competitors just 5% of it
Their 65% of revenue comes from herbicides
Two major strengths : Breeding and Genetic Engineering
Acquired Germplasm (or seed bank) and used modular marketing technology
to identify desirable traits
Now, the trait of Bt was embedded into the seeds plants uses it to protect
themselves.
MONSANTO IN INDIA
MIL
A publicly listed
company

It manufacture and
markets Roundup
herbicide and
DeKalb corn
hybrid seeds
MMB
JV between
Mahyco &
Monsanto

It marketed the
Bollgard Bt cotton
trait technologies
MHPL
It manufactured
and marketed Paras
Bollgard Bt cotton
hybrid seeds &
Seminis vegetable
hybrid seeds
COTTON & CORN AGRICULTURE
Monsanto's scientist isolated a protein from a naturally occurring
soil bacterium Bt and inserted it into the cotton seed genome
Pesticides sprays were reduced from 30 times to 10 times to once
or twice per season
Bollgard-II, a superior double gene technology provided
protection from bollworms and caterpillars
Benefits: Educating the farmers, Forming PPPs, Increase crop
yields & Increase income levels
RECENT EVENTS IN INDIA
Anti- Biotech Activists:

Some environmental activists perceived biotech as an unwarranted
interference in the process of natural selection and some argued that
cultivating biotech cotton is more expensive than organic cotton because of
higher cost of seeds, technology fees, increased use of chemicals and farmers
have to buy biotech seeds from the seed company each season. They claim that
in organic agriculture, seeds are saved and cultivated the following season.
Industry responded by showing their studies where insecticide use had reduced
by 41%, average yields had increased by 30-40% and farmers earned a mean
profit gain of 89%.




Price controls on Cotton:
Cotton was the only biotech crop where the provisional government had
set a price ceiling.
Objective was to prevent farmers from being exploited by the traders
and ensure the supply to consumers.
In the sugar industry also ,the government controlled the price by setting
a FRP at the raw material stage (sugarcane) and MSP at the finished
product stage (refined sugar).
Reversal of regulatory approval for Brinjal:
The insect protection biotech brinjal developed by Mahyco (Monsantos
joint venture in cotton) had secured regulatory approval in October 2009
but the Federal Ministry overruled the regulatory approval.
ISSUES CHALLENGING STEINER
Erosion of margins on cotton:
In April 2009, a price ceiling was imposed on biotech cotton seeds by local
state Government.
The government directives had transformed biotech cottonseed into a
money losing proposition as it challenged seed companies ability to cover
the cost of producing seeds & to earn a return on their annual investment.
Running a Marathon:
Agricultural R&D was like running a marathon
Monsanto has to maintain an active R&D to bring new products and better
and advanced technology.
It also has to reinforce with farmers the need for using good stewardship
practice to increase efficacy and usefulness of the crops.

THANK YOU.