1. Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement & Achievements:- of Dr. Chitore Guha Sarkar
(Miles to go before I Sleep!)
2014 Monsanto Highest Honor: Sustainable Yield Pledge Award

3. CSR – School Development Program _ Abohar, Punjab 2011-13

4. Phase II : Bringing smiles to children’s faces thanks to Monsanto Cotton Breeding Team’s planned initiatives
Monsanto India’s has a 52-acre cotton-breeding station in Abohar in Punjab state with a focus on developing hybrids
suitable for North India. This station was established in 2006 by DP&L and today under Monsanto has 4 full time
employees, 15 technical support employees and about 90- 100 seasonal workers, that work as a team. These seasonal
employees are recruited from the nearby villages around our station.
In continuation to it’s Community development effort in 2010-11, with a small scale but impactful project initiative,
Monsanto India Cotton Breeding Team under the leadership of Dr. Chitore Guha Sarkar, made this, not only a
sustainable project but scaled it up to extend the development work to 3 more schools in the locality of it’s Abohar
Breeding Station.
During the winter season, the team produces wheat in these fields, like any other farmer’s of the geography and the sale
of this crop fetches substantial amount of revenue. In 2010-11 the pilot project fetched USD~3K with which, as part of
their community outreach initiative, the team distributed a reverse-osmosis water system, ceiling fans, desks and chairs
to a local government school at Abohar. This year i.e. in 2011-12, the same project, which was scaled up, fetched
USD14K, and with the additional money, the team expanded the outreach program. The Abohar team worked with the
local communities and identified additional three schools which needed urgent help in terms of school infrastructure.
The team identified the needs of these schools and donated 200 desks, 2 RO systems, 6 Swings & 2 slides (children play
area), 5 office chairs, 4 office tables, 5 Fans and 5 tube lights in the four Govt primary schools (Seed Farm village,
Dhani thakar Singh, Ekta Colony and Chakra village) in Abohar.
This was dedicated & handed over to the schools in a formal function on 30th
April at Govt Primary School, Seed Farm,
attended by the Block Primary Education Officers, Head teacher of all schools, Teachers of all schools, Block Resource
Teachers, Village Head, Villagers, school children and Monsanto team members that included Ms. Susan Joseph,
Monsanto Sustainability & CSR Manager, North Cotton breeding team members, North Sales TM & India Cotton
Breeding Lead.
During the function, the school children presented various rhymes, songs, dance and skits. Through the skits, the school children
tried to spread the message of the common problems of drug/ alcohol addiction and female foeticide, which are very prevalent in
their communities or livelihood. They also showed their talent in science experiments by demonstrating some of them before the
group.

5. Rajiv Sethi, Site Operations Lead said, “This is a big achievement for the Abohar team. We are happy we are able to help
the schools and children in some way and seeing their smiles brings immense happiness to us. We will continue to work
with the communities and with the winter extra proceeds we will explore more future interventions in this area”.
The benches and desks also keep students off the cold/ hot floor in the extreme winter/ summer months, respectively
and the RO water plant provide clean water for children to drink and stay healthy. The benefits from previous year’s
effort were already visible with the increase in enrollment of students in the seed farm school at Abohar, Punjab and the
happiness of children at the schools enjoying the facilities of good clean drinking water, desk’s to sit on, breeze of the
fans during classes in summer and nice play time on slides and swings – via their nice smiling faces.
Through this project, we are making a long-term investment in our community and improving peoples’ lives by providing
a safe and productive educational environment for their children. For the India Cotton Breeding Team – it’s living the
Monsanto Pledge and vision of Sustainable Agriculture.
Phase I : Project Innovation & Pilot
CSR ACTIVITY AT GOVT. PRIMARY SCHOOL, SEED PUCCA FARM – ABOHAR, PUNJAB
INDIA COTTON BREEDING INITIATIVE
(C. K. Guha Sarkar, Venkataramana, Jyotsna Bhatanagar, Rajiv Sethi, Ravinder Giri, Davender Kadian)
Monsanto India Cotton Breeding took up the initiative to live the “Monsanto Pledge” - under community educational enhancement
program at Govt. primary school at Abohar, that hosts’ more than 400 students and the faculty members’ - to provide basic
infrastructure for better facilities and safer, more hygienic learning environment. From the produce amount of the winter crop on
wheat in FY 11 in breeding station (10 acres) they helped to build for the school a RO water system, benches for proper sitting
arrangements for children and ceiling fans for the classrooms. Monsanto has committed to contribute to development efforts in the
village school, where our Abohar Cotton breeding centre is located and most of our seasonal works’ children study in the school, in
this small effort and capacity. The partnership with school has enabled us to achieve our common goal of creating a favourable
educational environment and strengthening the relationship between community & Monsanto.
Formal opening ceremony at the school at Abohar was held on September 21, 2011 during the North field breeding tours and the
dedication ceremony of the facilities was graced by Roy Cantrell, Global Cotton Breeding Lead; C. Guha Sarkar, India Cotton
Breeding Lead; Devraj Arya, Tech. Dev. Lead; Shyam Sunder, Block Panchayat Educational Officer; Shankar Choudhary, District
Coordinator (Education); Nachhatar Singh, Sub-Inspector of Police; and school staff along with Monsanto Colleagues from Sales, TD,
Manufacturing, MMB Traits Team, Cotton Trait Introgression and Cotton Breeding staff attended the gathering.

6. School students welcomed all the guests with flower bouquets. Roy Cantrell, Guha Sarkar and DevRaj spoke to the gathering about
Monsanto as a company, its’ contribution to Indian farmers’ in the form of Improved Seeds, Traits & Technology, Innovations &
Contributors to the progress of the country and Monsanto Pledge & Vision of Sustainable Agriculture – Produce more, Conserve
more & Improving Lives. Roy formally switched on the RO water system and motivated students to study well and pay interest in
their studies in this talk. The school Head Mistress and other guests were very enthusiastic and excited to see the developments in
the school and expressed appreciation for Monsanto’s commitment towards community development activities to improve school
facilities & pay back to society in the form of helping children in education.
India Breeding Team also took the opportunity to reward its’ best testing farmer cooperators’ - Mr. Jagdish Godara (Sirsa) and Mr.
Jaspal Singh (Mansa. He did a phenomenal job for us in FY 11 and also were associated with us for past 2 years. Roy Cantrell
distributed momento’s and shawls to them for their commitments and long association with Monsanto that supported our testing
plot ramp ups in North.

7. ***
Photos of Project Area before Initiation: Govt. Primary School, Seed Farm Pucca, Abohar
Head Teacher: Mrs. Nasib Kaur Jakhar, Phone number: 08427295500
SNAPS OF THE SCHOOL PREMISES (PRIOR TO PROJECT)
Unsafe drinking water from open tube well. Open school premises without any children play facilities
Students in cold & hot – no benches or fans but a commitment & zeal for improvement in school management.

8. Personal Capacity Sponsorship: Supporting education for 1 child in NW Delhi _ World Vision Partner program.
Partner No: 1104866