ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) or a national business organization of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) made an announcement on January 26 that it set up ZEN-NOH Self-Reform Promotion Headquarters at its head office in Tokyo.
Within the Headquarters, ZEN-NOH has organized four Project Teams; Crop Farming Business Team, Livestock Production Business Team, Consumer Goods Supply Business Team, and Administration Department Team.
Each of the project teams will be engaged respectively in working out a concrete strategy for business operations as well as putting it into practice so as to achieve a common purpose of boosting agricultural incomes of JA’s member farmers.
To ensure that fruitful results of the purpose are achieved, progresses of the self-reform strategy are to be managed by the ZEN-NOH’s Headquarters that periodically reviews them.
Existing systems of business management and business administration are also to be reviewed so that ZEN-NOH’s self-reform will be further accelerated.
The Crop Farming Business Team plans to work out concrete measures not only to lower prices of fertilizers and other production inputs, but also to promote sales of rice and horticultural products directly to end users.
One of major challenges to be tackled by the Livestock Production Business Team will be reduction in prices of feed stuffs. The Team will seek for coordination with private feed manufacturers in cutting the prices.
The Consumer Goods Supply Business Team will consider how to take steps for revitalizing local communities, including a special system of supplying consumer goods to rural societies comprising people with limited access to shopping facilities.
On-the-spot reports will be also informed on a regular basis o the Headquarters by those Teams.
ZEN-NOH plans to put these concrete measures into its business program for the business year of 2017.