Monsanto is a global agriculture company developing products and tools for farmers around the world grow crops using biotechnology. The history of today’s Monsanto, an agricultural company, began in 2002 after it was divested from Pharmacia Corporation. Agricultural biotechnology was firmly established as the new company’s strategic research focus in an effort to improve farmer livelihoods by increasing their profitability through yield enhancements. The company produces it's own brands of GM products including Yieldguard and Roundup Ready.