The WINNER program

About Beyond the Rows Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company eps foam blog focused on one of the world s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.
It s been four months since the ground shook in Haiti . A few weeks after that catastrophic event, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss a variety of global issues, including the outlook for agriculture. Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and Executive Vice President Jerry Steiner attended the event and had conversations with attendees about what could be done to help Haiti. Monsanto had already donated money , but it was clear that a donation eps foam of our products corn and vegetable eps foam seeds could really eps foam make a difference in the lives of Haitians.
Simple directive, but complex in execution. First, Monsanto had to identify seed from its inventory that would be well-suited to Haitian growing climates. That was perhaps the simplest part. The seeds include corn (field, not sweet), cabbage, carrot, eggplant, melon, onion, tomato, spinach and watermelon. Contrary to some online reports (sparked by this erroneous blog posting ), these seeds are not derived from biotechnology (GMO). They are conventionally bred , hybrid seeds. Also, Monsanto is not donating herbicide or fertilizer, as those reports falsely state.
Though hybrid seeds were widely grown 30 years ago in Haiti, we were sensitive to the fact that hybrid seeds are not widely used in Haiti today. Hybrids have been in use for decades in other countries, including the Dominican Republic. Given the choice, farmers generally select hybrid seeds because they generate more food and grain per acre or hectare. Monsanto personnel consulted with the Ministry of Agriculture in Haiti and heard very clearly the ministry sees the opportunity for increased yields that hybrid seed creates for Haitian farmers. eps foam
A similar donation of hybrid seed to Malawi a few years ago produced a five-fold yield increase enough food to feed a million eps foam people for a year. It was the first time many of those farmers had planted eps foam hybrid seed. See a diagram below on how hybrid seeds work.
By understanding the laws of heredity, plant breeders can cross a large yellow pepper and a small red pepper to create a hybrid that is large and red. In this case, the traits for size and red color are dominant (yellow is a recessive trait).
What took the longest amount of time in this process eps foam was finding partners who could 1) help deliver the seeds and 2) ensure that once the seeds arrived, they would get into the hands of Haitian farmers. eps foam Additionally, we wanted to ensure there were resources on the ground eps foam in Haiti to distribute the seeds and provide necessary agronomic support. UPS brought the vegetable seeds in via air freight. Kuehne + Nagel delivered the corn seed via boat.
The USAID-funded WINNER program will manage seed distribution and support in Haiti. That support will include educational eps foam resources to explain how to best use the seed and plan for this year and next. Although Monsanto is providing the seed free of charge, farmers will pay for the seed. Providing an outright donation of seed would undercut one of the basic pieces of Haiti s agricultural and economic infrastructure. WINNER will distribute the seeds through stores that are owned and managed by farmer associations. The seeds will be sold at a significantly eps foam reduced price, and the revenue will be reinvested in local agriculture by the farmer associations.
When a national disaster occurs, the immediate focus for relief needs are food, water and shelter. The impact on the agriculture eps foam planting season is not lost on us. As the U.S. State Department noted this year on its blog , getting the agriculture sector back on track is critical for Haiti s food security. There are already a number of efforts to help, and we re proud to offer what we can as part of a holistic approach. eps foam
2/ Can you also confirm if farmers eps foam can use “traditional” fertilizers and herbicides for these hybrid plants?
Peter – Yes, the seeds are fertile. However, farmers generally do not replant hybrid seeds the following year because the offspring are not true replicate copies of the parent seeds (Based on the way they are produced: see the diagram above that explains how two parent plants are cross-pollinated to produce the hybrid).
When farmers eps foam choose to start planting hybrids, they usually also make the decision to begin purchasing new seeds each year because they want the quality hybrid. However, the seed isn’t sterile so yes they can replant.
The WINNER program – referenced above – will be working with Haitian farmers to determine whether the hybrids are right for them, and what they will do next season if they choose to plant the hybrids this season. WINNER will also advise on how to plant the seeds and what types of methods for weed cont