TOKYO, Sept. 17 ― Japan’s agriculture ministry is helping local farmers to become entrepreneurs seeking export business opportunity as the government aims to boost agricultural product exports as well as farm incomes.
The ministry has come out with the Global Farmers Projects (GFP), which offers export assessment for farmers and matchmaking services to make farmers match with traders for exports.
The main mission of the GFP is to promote Japan’s farm exports and to identify opportunities not only in large markets but in areas where there are immediate opportunities.
The agriculture ministry, with the help of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Tokyo-based wholesaler Tokyo Seika Co. and others who have farm export expertise, assess farmers’ profiles and offer them advices.
Under the new project, the agriculture ministry now plans to develop farm producing areas by tying up with food makers and exporters so that they can handle, manage and engage with global marketplace.
The GFP is formulated in line with the government’s vision to achieve a target of 1 trillion yen for agriculture exports in 2019.