“The best way to increase productivity is by supporting farmers in our country to improve their crops, Juan González Moreno”.

• They sign an agreement to improve the productivity and yields of their plots.
  
  
• With this agreement, progress is made in the national self-sufficiency of corn and, therefore, in the reduction of grain imports.
  
  
• “Collaboration between the Government of Mexico and businesses is twice as valuable when it is aimed at strengthening the technological bases and productive capacities of food producers,” Víctor Villalobos.
  
  
• “The best way to increase productivity is by supporting farmers in our country to improve their crops,” Juan González Moreno.

Mexico City, July 15, 2020. In order to boost the sustainable production of white corn and improve the productivity of small and large-scale farmers in Mexico, and reduce grain imports, today, Grupo MASECA signed a three-year collaboration agreement with the National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research (INIFAP), a decentralized agency of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The agreement includes the evaluation of 164 hybrid white corn seeds to be planted on 256 hectares, in an effort to determine the most appropriate grain for each region to help small and large-scale farmers in Mexico to improve their crop yields and, hence, their income.

The program will be applied in 22 states across Mexico, including Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz.

Under the terms of the agreement, MASECA agrees to contribute MXN 9 million to the project; that is, MXN 3 million per year, to be used as follows:

• For experimentation in demonstration plots and field days with producers,
• For technology transfer modules for producers,
• For technology packages,
• For cultural work courses on corn,
• For agronomic management and tools that help increase production,
• To ensure the quality of corn grains in different areas across Mexico,
• To develop hybrid corn kernels in specific regions across the country,
• To liaise with regional producers, and
• To hold regular meetings to track projects.

The agreement also seeks to implement methodologies to develop projects that are easy to replicate and apply in the work areas, as well as the training of instructors specialized in the platforms developed by the INIFAP, use of infrastructure, and the integration of personnel and technology currently existing in Mexico. All of these efforts will gradually reinforce the adoption, by producers, of the best technologies for their regions and the increased crop yields in favor of food self-sufficiency, one of the challenges established by the Government of Mexico in the nation’s 2019-2024 National Development Plan.

The agreement was signed by the director of INIFAP, Luis Ángel Rodríguez del Bosque, Grupo Maseca’s Chief Procurement Officer, Francisco Martínez Saldívar, and the Company’s Deputy Director of Procurement, Saúl Vásquez Pérez.

The agreement was also signed by witnesses of honor, including the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula; the Deputy Director of Food Self-Sufficiency, Víctor Suárez Carrera; Gruma’s Chief Communications Officer, Fernando Solís Cámara J.C., and the Director of Government Relations, Alfonso Cebreros Murillo.

“Cooperation between the Government of Mexico and business is always necessary, and twice as valuable in this case, as it is aimed at strengthening the technological bases and productive capacities of those who work tirelessly to produce the country’s required food supply,” said the Secretary Víctor Villalobos.

This initiative, he added, will bring the outcome of practical research closer to the needs of an emblematic agribusiness in our nation.

The agreement represents trust in the nation’s agricultural research, recognition of the quality of Mexican corn, political will to support the President's policy of aspiration to ensure the nation’s food security and sovereignty. It is an example for us to continue pushing for public-private partnerships, in this case, as related to corn for Mexico, added Villalobos.

Luis Ángel Rodríguez said that “One of the INIFAP's priorities in these difficult times is to establish ties with the sector's agencies and companies in the agri-food industry. We are confident that the collaboration between INIFAP and GRUMA will produce tangible results for farmers and society in general.”

When speaking of the agreement, the President and CEO of Grupo MASECA, Juan González Moreno, said, “at Gruma, we are committed to sustainability and the development of the Mexican farmland, and we know that the best way to increase productivity is by supporting our nation’s farmers, working hand in hand with the Federal Government, so that they can achieve more and improve their crops.”

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