EXHIBIT 31.01

                    Certification of Chief Executive Officer
                         Pursuant to Section 302 of the
                           Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, W. Thomas Jagodinski, certify that:

1.        I have reviewed this quarterly report of Delta and Pine Land Company;

2.        Based on my  knowledge,  this  report  does  not  contain  any  untrue
          statement  of a  material  fact  or  omit to  state  a  material  fact
          necessary to make the statements  made, in light of the  circumstances
          under which such  statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this report;

3.        Based on my knowledge,  the financial statements,  and other financial
          information  included in this report,  fairly  present in all material
          respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
          of D&PL as of, and for, the periods presented in this report.

4.        The registrant's  other  certifying  officer and I are responsible for
          establishing  and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as
          defined  in  Exchange  Act  Rules  13a-15(e)  and  15d-15(e))  for the
          registrant and have:

            a)      Designed such disclosure controls and procedures,  or caused
                    such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
                    our  supervision,   to  ensure  that  material   information
                    relating  to  the  registrant,  including  its  consolidated
                    subsidiaries,  is made  known to us by others  within  those
                    entities,  particularly  during  the  period  in which  this
                    report is being prepared;

            b)      Evaluated the  effectiveness of the registrant's  disclosure
                    controls  and  procedures  and  presented in this report our
                    conclusions   about  the  effectiveness  of  the  disclosure
                    controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered
                    by this report based on such evaluation; and

            c)      Disclosed  in this  report  any  change in the  registrant's
                    internal  control over  financial  reporting  that  occurred
                    during the registrant's  most recent fiscal quarter that has
                    materially  affected,  or is reasonably likely to materially
                    affect,  the  registrant's  internal  control over financial
                    reporting; and

5.        The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,  based
          on our most recent  evaluation,  to the registrant's  auditors and the
          audit  committee  of  registrant's  board  of  directors  (or  persons
          performing the equivalent function):

            a)      All  significant  deficiencies in the design or operation of
                    internal   controls   which  could   adversely   affect  the
                    registrant's  ability  to  record,  process,  summarize  and
                    report   financial   data  and  have   identified   for  the
                    registrant's  auditors any material  weaknesses  in internal
                    controls; and

            b)      Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                    or  other  employees  who  have a  significant  role  in the
                    registrant's internal control over financial reporting.


Date:  January 14, 2004   /s/ W. Thomas Jagodinski
                          -----------------------------------------------------
                          W. Thomas Jagodinski
                          President, Chief Executive Officer and Director