The Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) has set on discussing its own reform plan following the government’s decision to overhaul the JA group. The group is now facing an unprecedented challenge. We believe the keywords for reviewing the JA system is “participation” and “cohesive power.” By actively debating among the group how to transform itself, it should show a constructive path to make itself an organization indispensable for local communities.
The JA group must proceed toward maintaining its cohesive power by making this time of crisis an opportunity to work together more closely. It should stick to its basic principles of autonomy, independence and mutual aid as a co-operative, and prevent itself from falling apart. JA-Zenchu should play the leadership role in tackling the issue, with cooperation and participation of farmers, other JA members and JA staff. This is because JA is an organization which promotes local revitalization and agricultural development, and at the same time a local infrastructure which offers necessary services for people’s lives, including social welfare activities. People with various interests are gathered in the group. We cannot call the JA’s reform plan a “self-reform to create our JA” unless the voices of such people are reflected.
It is also important that the self-reform plan takes into consideration different regional characteristics, which range from areas with large-scale, full-time farmers such as Hokkaido to mountainous regions such as Chugoku and Shikoku. Reform should be something like fitting shoes to different size feet, not adjusting the feet to match the shoes. This is why JA-Zenchu needs to exercise leadership by winning support and understanding from local JA members. Hastily conducting reform without such process would only cause confusion among farmers.
While stressing that the reform will be conducted based on farmers’ needs, JA-Zenchu President Akira Banzai used the term “friendly rivalry” in explaining the direction of future reform. Farmers are facing competition between different regions, but Banzai believes they can play a win-win game by strengthening one another and expanding the group as a whole, the idea which he thinks overlaps with the co-operative’s raison d’etre.
On Friday, Aug. 8, Banzai asked an advisory panel to deal with JA’s reform, and two special committees under the panel began discussing the issue on Monday, Aug. 11. The National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh), which is in charge of sales and marketing of the JA group, and Norinchukin Bank, a financial institution of the group, set up separate committees to review their organizational structure and services and are expected to make proposals which will be reflected in the overall reform plan. The panel plans to compile an interim report in November, in view of the government and the Liberal Democratic Party’s discussions on revising the JA law.
Yasufumi Kanemaru, who heads the agricultural working group of the government’s Council for Regulatory Reform, stressed that the council will closely watch the JA group’s moves, as it will not accept any attempt to protect the status quo. We hope the JA group’s self-reform discussions will lead to establishment of a new JA which contributes to the growth of agriculture and increase in farmers’ income. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should recognize that reforming for the sake of reform, focusing on the slogan of getting rid of “bedrock regulations,” will only end up further deteriorating local areas. It goes against the Abe administration’s strategy of revitalizing local regions. It is like putting the cart before the horse.
(Aug. 13, 2014)