St. Louis, Missouri
December 20,  2001

South African farmers have completed planting of the country's first commercial biotech food crop. Roundup Ready soybeans were approved earlier this year by South Africa's Executive Council for
Genetically Modified Organisms, the body that reviews the country's applications for approval of biotech products.

"This decision is good news for South African growers who now have an opportunity to share in the economic and environmental benefits of Roundup Ready soybeans," said Kinyua Mbijjewe, Monsanto's spokesman for Africa.

"We believe growers in South Africa will find the benefits of Roundup Ready soybeans are well worth their additional investment in this technology," he said. "Where they're grown commercially, Roundup Ready soybeans have demonstrated their ability to improve yields and, in turn, increase growers' incomes."

This is the fourth biotech crop to be commercialized in South Africa since 1998. Other approved crops include insect-protected maize used for animal feed, Roundup Ready cotton and Bollgard, Monsanto's insect-protected cotton.

"This approval and planting in South Africa demonstrates that both farmers and government regulators recognize the benefits of biotechnology, which is why use of these technologies continues to expand throughout the world," said Robb Fraley, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto.

"This acceptance is driven by the overwhelming benefits of biotechnology, such as dramatic reduction in pesticide use."

South Africa traditionally imports soybeans to supplement domestic production and since 1999 has imported Roundup Ready soybeans from other countries where they are grown. The recent approval by the council allows Roundup Ready soybeans to be planted in South Africa. Growers recently planted approximately 7,000 hectares (17,500 acres) of Roundup Ready soybeans.

According to a recent report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), there has been "a significant increase of up to 100,000 hectares of transgenic crops" in South Africa since 1998. The report is available on ISAAA's website at http://www.isaaa.org .
 
Another biotech crop, Bollgard cotton, has been a particular advantage to growers in the Makhathini Flats region of South Africa, one of the poorer regions of the world, where bollworms traditionally have destroyed up to 60 percent of growers' harvests. Insect-protected cotton, enhanced through biotechnology to repel bollworms, significantly reduces pesticide use and increases yields.

"The success of Bollgard in Makhathini Flats is a good example of how biotechnology can help farmers in Africa and throughout the developing world improve the quantity and quality of crops they depend on for income and to feed their families and communities," said Mbijjewe.

Although South Africa is currently the only country in Africa that has approved commercial biotech crops, research and testing on similar products is being conducted throughout the continent and in other developing regions. For example, in 2001, the first field trials of virus resistant sweet potatoes were completed in Kenya, a milestone in a collaborative research project that Monsanto has been involved in for several years.

According to the ISAAA report, the proportion of transgenic crops grown in developing countries has increased consistently from 14 percent in 1997, to 16 percent in 1998, to 18 percent in 1999, and 24 percent in 2000.

"Despite the ongoing debate on genetically modified crops, particularly in countries of the European Union, millions of large and small farmers in both industrial and developing countries continue to increase their plantings of GM crops because of the significant multiple benefits they offer," said Clive James, Chairman of the ISAAA Board of Directors, in ISAAA's latest report.

In addition to its commercial products, Monsanto shares its knowledge and technologies on a non-commercial basis with public-sector partners to benefit subsistence farmers and the environment in Africa and throughout the world. This commitment is reflected in the New Monsanto Pledge, a series of commitments that describe the company's policies for products developed through biotechnology.

"By sharing our resources, we hope to facilitate and encourage additional research that will lead to a wide variety of discoveries to enhance their food security and nutritional needs in developing countries," said Fraley.

Some of these Monsanto projects include providing broad access to a working draft of the rice genome and participating in work to develop the virus-resistant sweet potatoes in Africa and papayas in South East Asia. In addition, the Monsanto Fund is supporting the St. Louis-based Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's efforts to develop a virus-resistant cassava, a staple crop
in Africa.

Monsanto's efforts complement a recent report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) that stressed the importance of agricultural biotechnology for developing countries. The Human Development Report 2001 also encouraged greater public investment in research and development to ensure that biotechnology meets the agricultural needs of the world's poor.

According to the UNDP report, biotech crops "could significantly reduce malnutrition, which still affects more than 800 million people worldwide, and would be especially valuable for poor farmers working marginal lands in sub-Saharan Africa."

Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a leading provider of agricultural solutions to growers worldwide. Monsanto's employees provide top-quality, cost-effective and integrated approaches to help farmers improve their productivity and produce better quality foods.

Company news release
N4063