The company's CSR arm, Monsanto Fund, has launched its activities in Andhra Pradesh with a Monsanto Fund Learning Centre to educate rural children.

A residential learning centre has been set up in Kurnool, targeting children in Kurnool and Mehboobnagar districts. It offers a maximum of 120 seats. The pupils can study there for some time and then join mainstream education.

However, critics feel Monsanto should focus first on removal of child labour from cotton fields and then on children from other backgrounds .

The CSR project was launched in partnership with a Kurnool-based NGO, Vords, and the Australia Foundation for People in Asia Pacific. Monsanto funds the rehabilitation programme, which includes formal and vocational education.

The centre serves as a bridging school that can take children from fields to mainstream education. It will receive funds worth Rs 2.2 crore over the next three years.

Patterson told Business Standard that this stand-alone project would not be replicated elsewhere and Monsanto was exploring different models for other states.

V Davuluri, an agricultural researcher from Hyderabad-based Glocal research, and a member of the company's child rights team, said: "The company has been positive in its approach, but is yet to address some critical issues to be effective." Of the 70-odd students admitted, there was hardly anyone from cotton fields, he added.

"Many of them are not even working children. We have told the company that we have to target working children from cotton fields to serve the purpose," Davuluri said.

Christopher Samuel, senior manager, public affairs, Monsanto, said: "I feel restricting a school to cotton field workers would be myopic." In fact, the premises also has a school for special children, he adds.

Monsanto Fund, on its part, is planning more schemes for other states targeting child labour. Monsanto has acknowledged the problem of child labour in its fields previously, when it offered rehabilitation incentives in its farms. It offers Rs 15 a kg as incentive to farmers for keeping out child labour.

A survey of child labour in Monsanto's farms in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where cotton seeds are grown on contract farming, showed 20 per cent incidence in 2005.

There are 23 other companies that are raising cotton seeds through contract farming. Monsanto's initiative is expected to set a precedent for these.