The National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh) has decided to extend its five-year contract with Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. based in the United States, which will expire in 2015, by five years to stabilize supplies of non-genetically modified feed corn.
Under the contract, JA Zen-Noh has been offering demand forecasts to Hi-Bred International so that the company can develop non-GMO corn seeds annually and supply the seeds to farmers in the U.S. which export corn to JA Zen-Noh.
JA Zen-Noh and Hi-Bred International are expected to sign the new partnership agreement on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the U.S. The agreement will enable JA Zen-Noh to secure stable supply of non-GMO corn until 2022.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, GM products occupy 93 percent of total maize crops in the country. The ratio has nearly doubled in the past decade, as farmers are actively introducing GM crops which are resistant to herbicides and harmful insects in order to save money for pesticides.
Alarmed that they would not be able to obtain sufficient supply of non-GM corn, JA Zen-Noh signed an agreement with Hi-Bred International, the seed division of chemicals giant DuPont Co., in 2011. In order to boost declining demand for non-GM corns, JA Zen-Noh compiles the total demand for such corn used to produce compound feed or corn starch processed by beverage companies, and conveys the data to Hi-Bred International. Then the company develops seeds based on the estimated demand and distributes them to U.S. farmers who supply corn to JA Zen-Noh.
In July, Green Co-op Rengo, an association of co-ops based in western Japan, and Tokyo-based Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Co-operative Union jointly established a council to promote non-GM corn at home and abroad and call on farmers to continue production. Council members will attend the signing ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to assure suppliers that they will work on securing domestic demand for non-GM corn in the future.
According to JA Zen-Noh, Japan imported 260,000 tons of non-GM corn for feed and 1.1 million tons for human consumption in fiscal 2013. JA Zen-Noh imports roughly 4 million tons of corn, out of which 600,000 tons are non-GM products. JA Zen-Noh’s imports of non-GM corn make up about half of Japan’s total imports of non-GM corn for feed. JA Zen-Noh aims to procure 500,000 tons of non-GM corn annually under the agreement.
(Oct. 7, 2014)