The National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA Zen-noh), Norinchukin Bank – the central bank for agricultural, forestry and fishery cooperatives – and Mizuho Bank have announced that they will jointly set up a study group to work on strengthening Japan’s agricultural industry.
As the nation’s agricultural sector is facing difficulties, such as the aging and decline of farm population and the increase in agricultural imports, the JA group judged that Mizuho’s business insight and expertise can help foster higher value added agriculture and boost sales potential of Japanese farm products.
The project is the JA group’s first attempt to formally cooperate with a company unrelated to agriculture concerning the issue, a Norinchukin Bank official said, adding that each of the three parties will utilize its strength to promote growth of the agricultural sector.
JA Zen-noh Chairman Yoshimi Nakano, Norinchukin Bank President Yoshio Kono and Mizuho Bank President Yasuhiro Sato agreed to launch the study group by the end of this month. The three institutions will discuss measures to increase farmers’ income, enhance domestic agricultural production and strengthen cooperation between the agricultural sector and food industries.
They hope to make the best use of Mizuho’s broad network of connections in the food industry business to implement specific measures where possible.
(Aug. 10, 2013)