Monthly Archives: April 2013

【Analysis】 WFO members should strengthen cooperation to put forward the voices of farmers in policymaking (April 18, 2013)

  Shunya Kimura The 3rd General Assembly of the World Farmers’ Organization displayed a significant step that the organization has made in the three years after it was established, as the members came to a consensus on a common standpoint concerning international trade, and held active discussions on five basic themes with the attendance of international organizations. As climate changes and short food supply are becoming serious worldwide, there is an increasing need for agricultural groups to strengthen coordination beyond national borders to assert farmers’ rights in international circles. In each of the sessions discussing key issues, different agricultural producer groups presented reports which described their active efforts to solve … Continue reading

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【News】 The World Farmers Organization calls for the need to take immediate actions to secure farmers’ income, fight climate changes and support women (April 18, 2013)

WFO’s 3rd general assembly, which 72 agricultural groups from 48 countries attended, closed Wednesday, April 17, in Niigata. WFO President Robert Carlson told a press conference held after the assembly that the meeting was a success, as participants shared the recognition that immediate action should be taken to tackle climate change which affects the agriculture and to support women, as well as securing income for farmers as retailers are gaining more control over price settings. He also stressed that they have come to consensus on the idea that multilateral negotiations taking agriculture into consideration are the best way to decide on international trade rules. In the assembly, participants discussed five … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Reducing food losses and waste – Now is the time to reenergize the spirit of “Mottainai” (April 17, 2013)

  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other organizations are strengthening measures to reduce global food losses and waste, as 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted around the world every year while as many as 900 million people are suffering from hunger. In Japan, diverse initiatives to fight food waste are underway nationwide. We hope such efforts will reverse this unacceptable trend. The world population is expected to grow from the current 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050, but food supply is believed to become even tighter, under such circumstances as grains being diverted to producing biofuel. On the other hand, a great amount of … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan-U.S. TPP deal – political calculations seen behind how each of the countries announced the joint statement on the agreement (April 16, 2013)

  Japan emphasizes that the agreement recognized the agricultural products are especially sensitive, while the U.S. underscores the point that all goods will be subject to negotiation Some differences are found in Japan and the United States’ outline of the agreement statement on preparatory negotiations over Japan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks announced Friday, April 12, it was learned.  The different points include: 1.The Japanese version outline of the agreement said that the two countries confirmed certain farm products were “sensitive” for Japan, while the U.S. version did not mention the point. 2. The U.S. outline noted that Japan agreed to negotiate on all items, which is not mentioned … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan reaches agreement with U.S. on preparatory talks for joining TPP – The government loses a trump card and the difficulty to win exceptions increases (April 13, 2013)

        The Japanese government announced Friday, April 12, that it has reached agreement with the United States government on preliminary negotiations, paving the way to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. As the U.S. was the biggest obstacle for Japan in joining the trade liberalization talks, all the other TPP participating countries are highly likely to approve Japan’s participation. On the other hand, in an effort to join the talks in haste, Japan made an apparent concession in such areas as automobiles. This means Japan has given away most of the cards before engaging in   the TPP negotiations, and is likely to face a difficult phase in … Continue reading

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