Achievements
in Plant
Biotechnology
2000

Introduction
The Year in Review

Worldwide Progress
The year 2000 marked the fifth anniversary of the commercialization of major field crops enhanced through biotechnology. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), commercial plantings of these crops reached 109.3 million acres worldwide - an increase of 11 percent over 1999. Interestingly, the acres devoted to biotechnology crops in developing countries increased 51 percent in 2000, compared to an increase of 2 percent in industrial nations. The United States remained the world's largest producer of enhanced crops with about 75 million acres planted in 2000, while Argentina, Canada and China ranked second through fourth.

The potential of biotech crops to enhance food and feed yields, reduce the use of chemical inputs and increase farmer profitability is the reason why the world's growers plant these crops more widely every year. In fact, crops that protect themselves against herbicides and harmful insects already have made a significant impact on farmer profitability, according to grower surveys conducted in 2000.

Monsanto Highlights - 2000
In 2000, Monsanto continued to offer the world's growers the most advanced agricultural technologies, the widest coverage in both crops and geography, and a portfolio of products unmatched in the industry. Through our development of plant biotechnology, we are helping our customers manage the financial challenges of farming by improving their yields and reducing their input costs. We're also helping them farm in a more environmentally sustainable manner.

In 2000:

• Acres planted with Monsanto traits grew by 15 percent over 1999, and seeds with Monsanto traits accounted for 90 percent of the acres planted with herbicide tolerant or insect-protected crops.

• For the first time, YieldGard insect-protected corn was grown commercially in Germany, and YieldGard/Roundup Ready stacked trait corn was grown commercially in the U.S.

• We conducted more than 800 field trials for regulatory and efficacy purposes in North America (U.S., Canada), Latin America (Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras), Asia (China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand), Africa (South Africa), Eastern Europe (Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria) and the Middle East (Turkey and Israel).

• We received U.S. regulatory approval for a second generation Roundup Ready corn product; India approved seed bulk-up and demo trials for insect-protected cotton; Roundup Ready soybeans received import approval from Poland, Korea, Russia and Thailand, and the European Union Scientific Committee for Plants issued a favorable recommendation for Roundup Ready corn.

• Grower satisfaction with Monsanto's biotech crops remained high. For instance, about 96 percent of surveyed U.S. Roundup Ready corn growers and more than 95 percent of surveyed U.S. Roundup Ready soybean growers reported satisfaction with our products.

• Monsanto's biotech crops continued to add value to farming compared to conventional crops. Surveyed U.S. growers reported an economic benefit of $14.08 per acre from our Roundup Ready soybean system and $13.54 per acre from YieldGard corn.

• Roundup Ready cotton, corn and soybeans - including our new Residue Proven Roundup Ready soybeans - are helping to increase the use of conservation tillage (con-till) techniques, worldwide. In 2000, Roundup herbicide was used on about 257 million con-till acres - two-thirds of the world's total.

• To help address Vitamin A deficiency among people whose staple food is rice, we made our rice genome sequence data available for public use. By October 2000, more than 200 scientists around the world had registered to access our data.

All italicized product names in this publication indicate trademarks or servicemarks of Monsanto Company or its subsidiaries.