General Association of Maize Producers

The Association Générale des Producteurs de Maïs (AGPM), known in English as the General Association of Maize Producers, is a French agricultural association founded on 13 May 1934 in Orthez, in the South-West of France. It represents all French maize producers regardless of their production method and works on agricultural policy at both European and national levels, on the economics of the maize sector through market monitoring and expertise, on food and non-food outlets, and on production factors such as seeds, fertilisation, crop protection and irrigation. The AGPM is a specialised association of the FNSEA, the main French farmers' union federation. The association is headquartered in Montardon near Pau, in the historic maize-growing heartland of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and also has a Paris office. It operates through three sections: AGPM maïs doux (sweet maize), AGPM maïs semence (seed maize) and Irrigants de France (irrigators). AGPM maïs doux brings together producers working under contract with processing plants for canned and frozen vegetables, fresh sweet corn and popcorn. AGPM maïs semence gathers farmers who multiply maize and sorghum seeds, with the mission of promoting French seed production and defending producers' interests. Irrigants de France represents irrigating farmers across all crops and campaigns to recognise water as an essential means of production. The AGPM is the cornerstone of a wider French maize group known as Maïz'Europ', which brings together the organisations of the French maize sector. Through this group, the association is linked to bodies such as the FNPSMS (Fédération Nationale de la Production de Semences de Maïs et de Sorgho), the interprofessional organisation for maize and sorghum seed production, and Germ-Services, a reference laboratory for the seed and cereal sectors based at Montardon since 1951. Germ-Services is a subsidiary of Arvalis, the AGPM and the FNPSMS, and analyses around 70,000 samples per year with 25 technicians and engineers. The AGPM publishes technical and economic information for its members, including AGPM Info Technique, AGPM Info économique and the Lettre des marchés, and organises events such as the Congrès du Maïs. It is also active in European representation through the CEPM (Confédération Européenne des Producteurs de Maïs). Over its history the association has been led by figures including Hubert de Baillenx, Louis Bidau, Marcel Cazalé, Christophe Terrain and Daniel Peyraube, elected in 2015. Its current leadership includes Eric Frétillère, re-elected as president of Irrigants de France according to the Maïz'Europ' website.

The Association Générale des Producteurs de Maïs (AGPM) was created on 13 May 1934 in Orthez, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, by maize producers from South-West France who wanted to defend their interests and promote maize at a time when the market looked disastrous. Its first president was Hubert de Baillenx. In its early years the association focused on defending maize growers, technical trials and varietal improvement. The impetus for organising had come in 1930 with the first International Maize Congress in Pau, which aimed to gather knowledge on maize cultivation and where American hybrids were discussed in France for the first time. The association's work was interrupted by the Second World War and it had to wait until January 1947 to be reactivated. Its leaders understood that the expansion of maize would be linked to genetic progress. The second International Maize Congress, organised by the AGPM in Pau in 1949, concluded that hybrids had to be made available to farmers. Louis Bidau, a Béarnais elected president of the AGPM in 1949, committed to producing hybrid seeds in France. This led in 1950 to the creation of the Fédération Nationale de la Production de Semences de Maïs et de Sorgho (FNPSMS). As the 1970s began, the publication AGPM Info was launched to relay the challenges ahead: enlargement of the EEC, competition from cereal substitutes, GATT negotiations, the Mansholt and Vedel reports, exploding production costs and monetary compensatory amounts. Marcel Cazalé, president of the Euralis group and of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques chamber of agriculture, succeeded Louis Bidau as AGPM president in 1973. The AGPM then worked to create new experimental stations and developed its network of regional engineers present alongside maize growers throughout France. This AGPM-Technique service merged in 2002 with the Institut Technique des Céréales et des Fourrages (ITCF) to give birth to the technical institute Arvalis. In parallel, the AGPM refined its structure in the 1980s: creation of the irrigators' section, new Communication and Environment services, and European representation through the CEPM (Confédération Européenne des Producteurs de Maïs). In the 1990s, when production reached 3 million hectares, the Mac Sharry CAP reform took place. The AGPM managed to make the specificities of the crop heard. As CAP reforms continued towards ever less common policy, Christophe Terrain, then president of the Vivadour group and involved in the seed sector, succeeded Marcel Cazalé in 1998. He worked relentlessly to highlight the specificities of maize cultivation and contributed to strengthening genetic progress and the maize sector, from seed to production. The 2000s concentrated many challenges concerning the CAP, non-food uses and production factors, requiring the AGPM to engage in societal debates in step with media and political events such as the Grenelle de l'Environnement and later the États Généraux de l'Alimentation. Daniel Peyraube, from the Landes, was elected president of the AGPM in 2015. The association is headquartered in Montardon near Pau, in the heart of the maize cradle, and also has a Paris site. It represents all French maize producers and works for the whole maize sector through its expertise in agricultural policies, market knowledge and production factors. It comprises three sections: AGPM maïs doux, AGPM maïs semence and Irrigants de France. The AGPM is a specialised association of the FNSEA. It remains the foundation of the new maize group, representing and defending maize and maize growers before French and community authorities as well as decision-makers and civil society. The FNPSMS is an interprofessional organisation whose mission is to organise and develop French maize and sorghum seed production economically, technically and regulatorily, and to promote it in the European Union and in some third countries.

• 2015

  Daniel Peyraube elected president.

• 2002

  AGPM-Technique merges with ITCF to create Arvalis.

• 1998

  Christophe Terrain succeeds Marcel Cazalé as president.

• 1980

  Creation of irrigators' section, Communication and Environment services, and European representation via CEPM.

• 1973

  Marcel Cazalé succeeds Louis Bidau as president.

• 1970

  Launch of AGPM Info publication.

• 1951

  Germ-Services laboratory established at Montardon.

• 1950

  Creation of the Fédération Nationale de la Production de Semences de Maïs et de Sorgho (FNPSMS).

• 1949

  Second International Maize Congress organised by AGPM in Pau; Louis Bidau elected president.

• 1947

  AGPM reactivated in January after interruption by the Second World War.

• 1934

  AGPM founded on 13 May in Orthez; Hubert de Baillenx becomes first president.

• 1930

  First International Maize Congress held in Pau, where American hybrids were discussed in France for the first time.

Representative and technical body for the French maize sector, defending producers' interests and promoting maize at national and European level.

• AGPM Info Technique

  Technical information publication for maize growers.

• AGPM Info économique

  Economic information publication for the maize sector.

• Lettre des marchés

  Market newsletter published regularly.

• Germ-Services

  Reference laboratory for seed and cereal sectors, subsidiary of Arvalis, AGPM and FNPSMS.

1. 1Page d'accueil du Groupe Maizeuropmaizeurop.com
2. 2Germ-Services | Maiz'Europ'maizeurop.com
3. 3Association générale des producteurs de maïsfr.wikipedia.org
4. 4Wikidata Q2867792wikidata.org