The Lower House agricultural committee held regional public hearings in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Showa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Monday, June 8 to listen to opinions from farmers and executives of primary agricultural co-ops (JAs) regarding the bill to revise the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law.
Participants at both hearings showed understanding for the need to reform the current system of agricultural co-ops, but few of them gave full support to the bill submitted by the government, with many expressing doubt over its effect to expand farmers’ income and calling for more careful deliberation at the Diet and explanation to farmers.
At the hearing held in Kanazawa, attendants expressed concerns over restricting non-farmer members’ use of primary JAs’ services and assigning only large-scale farmers and sales professionals to primary JAs’ board of directors.
The bill states that the issue of restricting non-farmer members’ use of JAs’ services will be discussed again after investigating the situation for five years. Hideyoshi Kousaka, head of JA’s Ishikawa prefectural union, stressed that non-farmer members are JAs’ close partners who recognize JAs’ roles and services and support the development of agriculture and regional economies together with the co-ops. “We cannot possibly accept restriction of non-farmer members’ use of services, because it will have an adverse effect on (JAs’) user-friendliness and local residents’ lives,” he said.
Kouichi Nishizawa, head of JA Komatsushi, an agricultural co-op in Komatsu, Ishikawa, explained that the costs for offering agricultural guidance to farmers are covered by revenues from credit and mutual aid business. “If non-farmer members are restricted from using JAs’ services, a part of our profit-making business will be taken away,” Nishizawa said, indicating that it will hamper agriculture development efforts.
Hidetoshi Karube, president of Rokusei Co., a rice production and processing firm based in Hakusan, Ishikawa, pointed out that legislative revision is not enough to expand farmers’ income. “It is necessary to discuss specific, realistic measures on how farm co-ops can raise profits through agriculture-related businesses,” Karube said.
At the hearing in Yamanashi, Hidemi Nakazawa, managing director of JA Rihoku, a farm co-op in Nirasaki, said primary JAs can enter new businesses because they have a competitive advantage as part of an organizational group. JA Rihoku deals with purchase and sales of rice as well as purchasing of agricultural materials from companies outside the JA group. Nakazawa explained that primary JAs can concentrate on conducting business freely because the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) takes care of legislative issues.
“There are services (of primary JAs) which should not be separated even if they are unprofitable (for the sake of their members),” Nakazawa added, referring to problems which might come up after JA-Zenchu’s auditing of primary JAs is replaced with auditing by certified public accountants. It is unlikely that the change would help increase farmers’ income, he said.
Michiyoshi Koike, head of JA Komano, a farm co-op in the city of Minami Alps, Yamanashi, stressed that JAs’ role of supporting local communities and infrastructure should be appreciated, saying that the co-op has been maintaining its unprofitable gas station business and supporting aged farmers living in remote areas by offering a minibus pickup service when they go shopping. Many other attendants shared his view, saying that the proposed revision of the law is not sufficiently recognized among farmers.
(June 9, 2015)