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Spring Progress Report

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Communit ies

Bringing Farmers What They Need Most: Timelyand Customized Information

In May 2010, our people launched a free service for farmers in India. This servicewas designed to break through the challenges of illiteracy and rural isolation and

provide Indian farmers with possible solutions to their crop challenges.

The Monsanto Farm AgVisory Services (MFAS) program, known as Dr.

DEKALB Farm Care for corn growers, is an innovative and interactive mobile

advisory platform for farmers. Mobile phone adoption in rural areas is actually

quite high, which makes cell phones an ideal platform for delivering information.

The Dr. DEKALB service offers a toll-free number that farmers can call to speak

directly with an advisor. Available 365 days a year, Dr. DEKALB Farm Care is acustomized approach to providing information and advising farmers in remote

locations on a variety of topics that help them produce heartier crops and higher

yields.

The inbound advisory function provides assistance in crop management, such as

pest and disease control, fertilizer usage, weed management and irrigation.

Additionally, farmers can access information on pre-planting and harvest issues,

including suitable seed selection, land preparation, harvesting issues, weather

forecasts, and yield and local commodity prices. This information is designed toprovide useful insights on six crops via different service brand platforms: Dr.

Paras Farm Care for Cotton Dr. DEKALB Farm Care for Corn, and Seminis

Gurukulam Farm Care for Hot Pepper, Tomato, Cabbage and Cauliflower. All of

the information is available in seven languages to farmers in 16 Indian states.

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Dr. DEKALB Farm Care also offers outbound advisory functions as well. After

registering for the service free of cost, farmers receive customized messages sent

to their mobile phone throughout the season. Alerts consist of information

regarding crop management, hybrid recommendations, weather forecasts and

local commodity prices.

The Dr. DEKALB service offers a toll-free number that farmers can call

to speak directly with an Advisor. Available 365 days a year from 7 am-

9 pm.

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THE VOICES ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE

Sixty percent of our advisors are formally educated in agriculture. Each of them

undergoes an intensive three-month training program that prepares them to

answer tough questions and assist farmers in need. The training program includes

crop training, examinations, mock call tests, voice and language training and skills

enhancement.

Our people know how important it is for a farmer to be able to communicate with

an advisor. When a farmer calls, he or she is directed to an advisor who speaks his

or her own local dialect.

Dr. DEKALB Farm Care also offers a three-tier advisory support platform. When

a farmer calls into the center, an advisor attempts to resolve the query. If the

advisor is unable to provide an answer, the query is sent to our expert panel. The

solution is then passed back to the advisor, who relays the advice to the farmer. If

no solutions can be provided, a representative will visit the farmers field and

provide advice and insight.

THE RESULTS RE M ZING

In 2010, the inaugural year of the Dr. DEKALB Farm Care program, 10,000

farmers enrolled in the service. In 2013, the enrolled base has exceeded the

800,000 mark. When we collected feedback through surveys and farmer

interactions, we found that the Dr. DEKALB Farm Care program had delivered in

an impressive way. A sample of 6,000 farmers in the States of Bihar,

Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh revealed that 86 percent had

implemented the Advisory and 78 percent had benefitted from its use through

yield enhancement and cost reduction. Over 90 percent of farmers said they were

extremely satisfied with the program, as they had a great customer experience.

Just as important, 99 percent said they are likely to be associated with DEKALB

due to the service.

My corn fields were experiencing extremely slow growth. I immediately called

Dr. DEKALB Farm Care and the advisor recommended that I apply a dosage of

19:19:19 nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium (NPK). Within one week the condition

of my fields improved significantly! I hope more and more farmers use this

service. I am very happy with my healthy and higher yielding crop all thanks to

Dr. DEKALB Farm Care.

Sonar Rehman,Farmer, Purnea, Bihar

Monsanto Farm AgVisory Service The farmer-specific advisory platform has

been, by all indicators, a powerful resource for Indian farmers. By helping to

diagnose a farmers problem and provide them with a customized advisory,regardless of dialect, our people have built on our promise to improve lives and

increase yields.

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THE ENROLLED BASE HAS EXCEEDED 800,000 MARK