, , is a federation

Cooperative federation

A co-operative federation or secondary co-operative is a co-operative in which all members are, in turn, co-operatives.Historically, co-operative federations have predominantly come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies and co-operative unions...

 of agricultural cooperatives

Cooperative farming

An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative where farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity....

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. ZEN-NOH was formed in 1972 with the joining of the ZENHANREN group (National Marketing Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) and the ZENKOREN group (National Purchasing Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations). ZEN-NOH consists of 1,173 agricultural cooperatives and federations that in 2004 had a combined revenue of $53.8 billion (USD). ZEN-NOH is involved in the marketing, tracking, and quality assurance of the products of its cooperatives. As of 2006, ZEN-NOH has declared that it will not participate in the research and development of genetically modified foods

Genetically modified organism

A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...

. ZEN-NOH is one of the world's largest importers of animal feeds and agricultural fertilizers. 70% of the sales of chemical fertilizers in Japan are handled by them. ZEN-NOH is also largely involved in the production of farming equipment, primarily tractors.