Daisuke Matsumoto – Qingdao, China
Agricultural organizations from six nations including Japan, China and South Korea launched a federation on Tuesday, June 2, to conduct joint research and exchange programs among farmers to promote the so-called “sixth industrialization” of agriculture, namely adding value to agriculture through processing and services. The Japanese agricultural co-ops (JA) group will join the federation to share model cases of value-added agriculture in an effort to help increase farmers’ income.
A total of 206 organizations, universities and companies from Taiwan, Russia and Germany in addition to the three nations joined the federation. Members from Japan include Nakamura Gakuen University and Kyushu University, both in Fukuoka, and the JA group’s prefectural unions in Fukuoka, Saga and Miyazaki.
Naraomi Imamura, professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo who advocated the idea of sixth industrialization in agriculture, and Qingdao Agricultural University President Li Baodu will serve as chairmen emeritus of the federation, and Nakamura Gakuen University President Satoshi Kai will serve as chairman. Seven people, including Hirofumi Kurashige, head of the JA’s Fukuoka prefectural union, were chosen as vice chairmen.
The federation plans to hold forums about once a year, starting with a symposium scheduled in late September at Agricultural Cooperative College in South Korea. Member groups will also cooperate through sharing good practices found in each country and promoting branding of farm products.
At the federation’s inaugural meeting held at Qingdao Agricultural University, Kurashige said sixth industrialization cannot be implemented without a stable primary industry, stressing the importance of advocating sixth industrialization focusing on farmers rather than companies.
Kai said sixth industrialization is a key to increasing the presence of agriculture, adding that it is difficult for farmers to raise their income only through production of farm items.
(June 3, 2015)