Domestic barley for pig farming, true to the land and self-sufficient: Korean cooperative adds 142 hectares a year

South Korea's imports of genetically modified (GMO) agricultural raw materials have climbed year after year. Yoon Hyung-geun, president of the South Korean producers' and consumers' cooperative Hansalim, put it bluntly: "According to 2014 statistics, South Korea ranks first in the world in imports of GM food and second in the world in imports of GM feed." The self-sufficiency rate for miscellaneous grains and cereals also slid all the way from 80.4% in 1970 to 24% in 2014, a record low.

To win back self-sufficiency in domestic feed, the Hansalim cooperative has promoted the "Korean pigs eat Korean barley" campaign, hoping that grassroots consumer power can stop the years-long decline in the self-sufficiency rate. After several years of effort, by the end of 2016 the cooperative's feed self-sufficiency rate was 46.8% for Korean cattle, 24.9% for Korean pigs, and 11.1% for Korean laying hens. In 2016 alone, the area planted with barley to feed pigs increased by 142 hectares! Yoon Hyung-geun was also specially invited to Taiwan to share the unique experience of the Hansalim cooperative.

The South Korean Hansalim cooperative is a non-profit organization that builds a sustainable "production-consumption system" through urban-rural trade and actively engages in social advocacy, including climate change, the threat of nuclear power, energy depletion, and agricultural issues. At present it has nearly 600,000 members across South Korea (about 3% of all South Korean households) and 209 outlets, offering in-store purchases and online mail-order delivery. It works with 2,150 partner farms, and its turnover reaches 400 billion won (about 10 billion New Taiwan dollars).