Monsanto : Pledges $150,000 Towards Relief and Rehabilitation Efforts in Nepal

"We appreciate our partnerships and know they're helping to deliver hope to millions of families and children in need."

Mumbai, India, May 6, 2015: Sustainable agriculture company Monsanto has pledged $150,000 (USD) towards relief and rehabilitation efforts in Nepal.

The company, which has more than 1,000 employees in the Indian sub-continent, is providing support to World Food Program USA's (WFP USA) Emergency Response Fund, a groundbreaking approach to crisis relief that enables the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to reach communities faster and more efficiently. Monsanto's donation will immediately be used to scale up WFP's response to the Nepal earthquake. In addition to this, Monsanto will offer employee donation matches to further enhance support of relief efforts.

"Our thoughts and support go out to the thousands of impacted people and families in Nepal." said Shilpa Divekar Nirula, Monsanto's India Region CEO.

She added, "We interact on an ongoing basis with the communities in Nepal and are committed to partnering in immediate relief and subsequent rehabilitation efforts to help rebuild their livelihood."

Monsanto will donate $100,000 to WFP USA to support WFP's emergency assistance efforts, including providing food and temporary shelters to communities affected by the earthquake. In a bid to overcome the widespread destruction to rural infrastructure, the company has pledged another $50,000 for various rehabilitation efforts. With the help of supporters like Monsanto, WFP expects to deliver food and other emergency relief assistance to more than 1.4 million people in Nepal over the next three months.

In addition to the $150,000 pledge, Monsanto will match dollar-for-dollar all relief effort donations made by Monsanto employees to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This employee match program includes all individual employee donations up to $1,000.

"Multinationals are playing a pivotal role in helping survivors of the earthquake in Nepal, who are piecing their lives back together after this harrowing disaster," said Rick Leach, President and CEO of WFP USA. "We appreciate our partnerships and know they're helping to deliver hope to millions of families and children in need."

Others who want to join Monsanto in helping those in Nepal rebuild their lives after the devastating earthquake can contact IFRC at www.ifrc.org or World Food Program USA at www.wfpusa.org/nepal.

About Monsanto:

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy.