A farmer-support team of Saku-Asama Agricultural Cooperative (JA) in Nagano prefecture has achieved remarkable results in helping agricultural newcomers to settle in the JA’s territory.
Members of the support team, veteran staff members who have been re-employed after retiring on reaching retirement age from the JA, maintain “face-to-face interactions” with member farmers including new entrants in farming.
Members of the farmer-support team of JA Saku-Asama visit one of the agricultural newcomers at his farm to hear his requests to the JA. (Saku-shi, Nagano prefecture)
They work to support members’ farm managements by providing member farmers with advices based on their own experiences and local knowledge.
The functions played by the three-member team are well working especially to support agricultural newcomers. The team members provide on-farm supports to the newcomers with information useful for settlement in a rural community as well as farm planning.
Such information has been helpful for the new entrants in farming to lease farm lands, purchase used farm machines, and rent an empty house to live in with their family. JA’s ability of offering comprehensive services makes it possible for the newcomers to receive such on-farm supports.
The team members also serve as a bridge between local farmers and agricultural newcomers, which is helpful for the newcomers not only to smoothly move to the Saku-Asama area, but also to begin farm production.
Since the team was set up in 2009, it has mediated farmland leases of more than 70 hectares and helped 150 agricultural newcomers to settle in the area.
Akira Ide, 63, one of the team members, renews his determination to further activate face-to-face communications with newcomers and says “JA’s staff members have rich knowledge of our villages. We can assist agricultural newcomers by providing them with integrated support services from farming to living.”