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MAFF to Support Fresh Calls on Young People to Join in Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) will embark in earnest on facilitating employment of young people in agriculture, forestry and fishery business. The main target of the drive is the so-called
"FREETERs"* or part-time jobbers (who would not take up traditional style of life-time employment) among youths in their 20's and 30's as well as the
"NEETs"* who are not in education, employment or under training. MAFF intends to strengthen supply of information on opportunities for employment and for trial experience in farming as young people show increasing interest in agriculture. For this promotional drive, MAFF sets its eyes on the "workforce market" of some three million youths who are either unable or unwilling to take up employment, with a hope to enroll them into agriculture, forestry and fishery business.
Up to this date, the Prefecuture Consultation Centers for Would-be New Comers to Agriculture (provisional translation) and the employment security offices (called "Hello Work") were the main sources one could get information from about opportunities for agricultural engagement or jobs offered by agricultural production corporations. Relevant information will now be made available more wide channels of internet and mobile phones.
The system to support new engagement/employment in agriculture will be further strengthened by a measure to help
freeters and neets to have longer-period trial experience in agriculture, an expanded quota for loans made available to agricultural production corporations which employ young people, and setting up an institution for capacity assessment of would-be new engagement/employment in agriculture.
According to a survey published by MAFF in February 2004, some 40% of people newly engaged/employed in agriculture responded by saying "I was attracted to agriculture as it allows for originality and invention." According to the same survey, around 30% of youths in their teens up to 30's showed interest in experiencing agriculture/forestry activities.
MAFF set out a goal in the new Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas to secure some 12 thousand youths below age 39 into agriculture each year as a part of bringing up agricultural workforce. "We will promote employment facilitation and upbringing of agricultural workforce in parallel with each other to secure firm basis of manpower for agriculture," say a MAFF official with expectation.
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freeters and neets: The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications broadly defines freeters as young people (not including students and housewives) aged between 15 and 34 who are either engaged in part-time jobs or who, despite their willingness to work, are jobless. Neets are unmarried people in the same age range who are 'Not in Employment, Education or Training', and are doing nothing to seek jobs. |
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