Iwate Prefectural Union of Agricultural Cooperatives is launching a new project named “Better Living Activities Promotion Program,” in which the Prefectural Union will provide a financial assistance to residents’ associations aiming to revitalize their rural community at grass-roots level.
The Prefectural Union, JAs’ apex organization in Iwate prefecture, plans to assist local residents to set up their own “regional management organization” for coping with problems faced by themselves in their rural life, which organization the Abe Administration regards as a core body for revitalizing local regions in the country.
At the expert panel meeting held by the Government, it was recommended for the Administration to encourage cooperation between the regional management organizations and agricultural cooperatives (JAs) in respective areas. According to JA ZENCHU, Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, the Iwate Prefectural Union is a forerunner of promoting such cooperation.
In this project, rural associations organized by community residents, in addition to JA, JA’s youth organization, JA’s women’s association, and JA’s commodity-wise producers’ organizations, will be eligible for receiving a subsidy of 200 thousand yen per year. An annual budget of the Prefectural Union will be 14 million yen.
Those organizations will be encouraged to file their application for the subsidy with their activity plan for enhancing their better living activities with their JA office.
Not only JA’s organizations, but also rural community residents’ associations will be invited to join the project. The Iwate Prefectural Union intends to promote supportive relationship between JAs and community associations in the prefecture by strengthening their mutual cooperation especially for better living activities in rural societies.