Biotech Updates

Monsanto Pledge Awardees

July 17, 2009

Six projects from nominations around the world were chosen by a panel of external judges to receive the 2008 Monsanto Pledge Awards. According to Monsanto, the winners were evaluated on two criteria: how the project demonstrates commitment to the Monsanto Pledge through the application of Pledge values; and what economic, environmental, or societal value the project created. These projects are:

  • Introduction of Insect-Protected Biotech Cotton in Burkina Faso (Africa) 
  • USDA Soybean Development Provides a Sustainable Source of Omega-3 (USA)
  • Enabling Virus-Resistant Papaya and Sweet Potato in Asia
  • Water Efficient Maize for Africa
  • Human Rights Initiatives in Hybrid Cotton Seed Production in India
  • Improving Safety & Creating Opportunities for Local Workers in San Quintin Mexico

The winning teams each receive a grant that is donated to the non-profit organization of their choosing. In the case of the "Enabling Virus-Resistant Papaya and Sweet Potato in Asia, Stan Flasinski, a Monsanto researcher in St. Louis, presented the award to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). Flasinki, says Monsanto, "collaborated with local nonprofit research teams in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Malaysia to leverage Monsanto expertise and create viral-resistant papaya and sweet potato varieties, now in field evaluations. His work raised the researchers' abilities to enable crop transformation techniques, address biotechnology regulatory issues, conduct biosafety risk assessments, manage intellectual property, and increase regional networking. Now, these countries have greater capacity to practice viral control in the field. This project can be a model for additional disease collaborations that affect small acreage, subsistence crops that are integral to many Asian communities. Ultimately, the training Flasinski delivered enables local researchers to have more autonomy in future projects."

For more information view http://www.monsanto.com/responsibility/our_pledge/pledge_award_winners.asp