Print This PageMississippi Farmboy Spends His Summer at Monsanto in China
From the Mississippi Delta to the Great Wall of China:
A young man finds his calling at Monsanto in Beijing
Growing up, Mississippi farm boy Floyd Coghlan never really thought much about what products and technologies farmers on the other side of the world were using on their farms. But as he grew up, and his interests turned to intensive study of the Chinese language, Floyd found that “living and studying Chinese in Beijing left a deep impression on my life and changed my life forever.” He recently had the chance to bridge his passions for farming and the Chinese language as an intern working at Monsanto in China – and found that working for an agriculture company in China turned out to be less foreign than he imagined. Floyd Coghlan reflects:
Floyd treks the Great Wall of China
I was on a train from south China’s Changsha city on my way back to Beijing. Taking the train in China always makes for a good experience and there are always interesting people to talk with and beautiful scenery to look at. As the train passed fields of crops in Hunan province I began to strike up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. I told him I was working as an intern for Monsanto and told him about Monsanto’s products. “Have you ever heard of Roundup?” I asked him. “ Yes, of course,” he said and went on to tell how famous it is among China’s farmers. At this moment I knew Monsanto had already built a name for itself in China.
I was born and raised in Holly Bluff, Mississippi, a small agriculture community situated in the fertile grounds of the Mississippi Delta. With my father being a farmer and my grandfather owning a farm chemical and seed distributor, I was very familiar with farming and naturally familiar with Monsanto. But as a boy I never envisioned that the same Monsanto products used on my family farm were being used on the other side of the world.
I first went to China in 2005 to study Chinese at the Beijing Language & Culture University for one year. After finishing my study there, I went back home to complete my bachelor’s degree at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. Looking back, it seems strange how someone with my background ended up in China. However, doing an internship at Monsanto in China seemed to bridge the gap between my past and my present.
After graduating from Mississippi College, I returned to China for the summer. I didn’t know what to expect coming back, and I was pleased to receive an opportunity to work as an intern in government and public affairs for Monsanto in China. During those months, I gained a new perspective on Monsanto as a company and have a better understanding of Monsanto’s work in China.
Monsanto is a well-established company in China. Monsanto first came to China in the 1920s when they were selling saccharin, and later, medicines such as coumarin and aspirin. Now, as a purely agriculture company, Monsanto partners itself with local Chinese companies to bring its products to China’s farmers. Monsanto products sold in China include conventional corn, sunflower and cotton seed varieties, as well as herbicides Harness, Lasso, Roundup, and Rocket. Monsanto has successfully established itself in China not only because of the excellent products it sells, but because it has built a reputation of integrity and trustworthiness in an area of the world where many farmers feel they have been cheated with poor products by other companies and suppliers.
China is a country with 900 million farmers, which means Monsanto’s business in China operates a little differently than in other parts of the world. First, Monsanto operates in way that is sensitive to the culture of China’s farmers. Details such as knowing how best to package products for the local market and educating farmers on how to use the products help to earn trust. Understanding that many of China’s farms are lead by women is also an important cultural difference to be aware of when making visits to local farms.
Floyd Coghlan down on the farm in
Mississippi
Second, Monsanto, like many other companies in China, is actively involved in the modernization of China and bringing goodwill to China. One way Monsanto does this is through education. Monsanto has launched a 15-year program with the China Ministry of Agriculture in villages of Hebei Province that aims to introduce the most advanced planting technologies for Chinese farmers. In 2001 Monsanto established a “Monsanto Hope School” for children in the inner-Mongolia autonomous region. Besides its efforts towards the education of farmers Monsanto has donated funds to support agricultural biotechnology in Chinese universities. But Monsanto’s greatest contribution to China, in my opinion, still remains its products, which are helping to sustain agriculture.
After coming to China, I discovered that agriculture in this country of 1.3 billion is facing serious challenges. For starts, China has nearly one-fifth of the world’s population, but only seven percent of the world’s arable land. West and parts of north China are challenging desertification, and agricultural pollution is a major environmental issue. Furthermore, in concurrence with China’s fast development, many of China’s farmers are putting down their farm tools and heading to the cities for work. Hopefully, through the eventual use of Monsanto’s biotech seed, farmers in China will be able to use fewer pesticides and less fuel, while increasing their crop yields and personal incomes. Right now the Chinese government is heavily focused on implementing policies that aim to narrow China’s wealth gap and provide a better quality of life for all Chinese people. I believe that companies like Monsanto are playing a vital role in this transformation.
Working as an intern for Monsanto this summer has truly been a rewarding experience. I have learned more about China and Chinese people. I plan to someday work in Beijing, so this job has given me a glimpse into what working in China is like. I must say I was pleased with what I found. All the people I worked with were very easy to get along with and very willing to help each other. My experience at Monsanto has also given me more confidence. When I look for my next job in Beijing, I will be able to reflect back on my experience with Monsanto, which gave me a valuable opportunity to combine my experience growing up on a farm with my aspirations to work in China.
Visit:
Monsanto China:
http://www.monsanto.com.cn/
Beijing Language & Culture University:
http://www.blcu.edu.cn/english/index.asp
Mississippi College:
http://www.mc.edu/
Note: With respect to the time period prior to Sept. 1, 2000, references to Monsanto or the company refer to the agricultural business of Pharmacia Corporation, which was known as Monsanto Company until March 1, 2000.
