(3BL Media/Justmeans) â Sustainable agriculture lies at the core of global food security. It involves the creation of a healthy and sustainable food system that ensures physical and economic access to adequate amounts of nutritious food for all. It is equally important to ensure that the food within this system is produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially just manner.

Sustainable agriculture has become increasingly important in the view of rapid population growth and climate change. By 2050, there will be an additional two billion people on the planet, increasing the global population to nine billion and leading to an increased need for food.

Monsanto is focused on helping farmers worldwide solve challenges in sustainable agriculture. At a seminar with students this month at Ho Chi Minh City Studentsâ Cultural Palace in Vietnam, experts from Monsanto discussed the question of how the world can produce enough food in 2050 using only the currently available arable land.

Juan Ferreira, vice president of Monsanto, said that advancements in technology have made todayâs agriculture much different from what it was centuries ago. With todayâs technologies, it is possible to develop agriculture sustainably by using the same or less water and nitrogen and achieve greater yields. Monsanto sees a large potential in Vietnam as a main market for the company, and plans to increase its investments in the country in the future.

Monsanto is investing in agriculture in Vietnam and collaborating with farmers to plant corn and other crops on less productive rice fields. A program involving Monsanto called âRice-to-Corn Rotationâ is underway that utilizes better seeds, improved farming practices and market connectivity to help 8,000 farmers in the Mekong Delta increase their income by three times of what they earned from rice. Monsantoâs Vietnam Country Lead Nguyen Dinh Manh Chien also blogged about it on the companyâs Discover site: From Rice to Corn in Vietnam.

The participants at the seminar pointed out that agriculture contributes over 20 percent of Vietnamâs GDP and employs 50 percent of the work force. Ferreira said that the country has a combination of good soil, good governance, and appetite for investment, which paves the way for the entry of advanced technologies. This can help Vietnam become a powerful country in agriculture.

Engaging and equipping the youth with the right mindset and skills are a vital part of Vietnamâs efforts to develop agriculture. At the seminar, 300 students in agriculture and sustainability learned about the role they can play in developing sustainable agriculture, and gained new insights into how non-agricultural students can also play a significant role in agribusiness and compete in the global economy.

Source: Monsanto Blog