Agriculture Minister Koya Nishikawa said Friday, December 26, at the press conference after the Cabinet meeting, that when reappointed as Agriculture Minister, he was instructed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed mainly with the agricultural co-ops reform. His statement made it clear again that Prime Minister Abe has a strong will to promote the agricultural co-operatives reform. Based on Prime Minister’s intention, Agriculture Minister Nishikawa stressed his idea to seek a solution in accordance with the opinion offered by the government and the ruling parties in June.
Agriculture Minister Nishikawa was reappointed in the Third Abe Cabinet inaugurated Wednesday, December 24. In the first press conference after the reappointment on Friday, December 26, Agriculture Minister Nishikawa said, “When I was reappointed, I was told (by Prime Minister Abe) what I should do as Agriculture Minister. Among them, the agricultural co-ops reform occupies a big part. I’d like to proceed with the reform keeping in mind what I was told. ”
As for the direction of the reform, Nishikawa said, “the basic idea reflects the agreement between the ruling parties and the government.” In the opinion given by the government and the ruling parties in June, as for the focal issue of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, “the system of the Central Union under the Agricultural Co-operatives Society Law will shift to the independent new system.”
Concerning the supplementary budget of fiscal 2014, Nishikawa said in the press conference, “I’d like farmers to work hard to increase productivity of rice. So, I’d like to provide the budget to all the farmers within the fiscal year.”
The fiscal 2014 supplementary budget will include support for the effort that leads to the low cost of rice production to make up for the falling in rice price. The sharing of agricultural machines, direct planting of seeds to paddies or introducing varieties that can be cropped in different seasons are thought to be effective.
Agriculture Minister Nishikawa explained his idea that was to provide a subsidy of several thousand Japanese Yen per 10 are to management bodies that satisfy the conditions specified by the government. Moreover, Nishikawa revealed his policy to offer a certain amount of subsidies even in the case of meeting just a part of the conditions, saying, “We will provide a certain amount of subsidies to those that have yet to satisfy the conditions, if not the same amount.”
(Dec.27, 2014)