|
|
|
|
|
Report
No.231004 |
|
|
|
|
- Domestic - |
|
|
The Core Farmers' Business Stabilization Bill Enacted A new 'bill for the Core Farmers' Business Stabilization Measures' was enacted on June 14 when it was approved, without amendment, by the House of Councilors with majority votes cast by members of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party etc. The bill stipulates new farm business stabilization measures that will be introduced from FY 2007. The passage of the bill marks a major turning point in agricultural policy direction of the country: for the land utilizing type of crops such as rice, wheat & barley, and soybeans, the commodity-specific price policies that have covered all the growers of these crops will now change to an income policy that only covers core farmers and will be applied to support just their farm businesses. With the new policy tool, the government intends to speed up the agricultural structure reform and to enhance stagnant food self-sufficiency ratio. The bill will come into force on April 1, 2007. At the floor session of the House of Councilors that day, a package of three bills, i.e. the bill for Core Farmers' Business Stabilization Measures, the bill to amend the Law for Sugar Price Adjustment and the bill to amend the Staple Food Law, was tabled for a single voting. Members of the Liberal Democratic Party, the New Komeito party and the People's New Party voted for while the Democratic Party of Japan, Japanese Communist Party and Social Democratic Party members voted against. The Core Farmers' Business Stabilization Measures Bill aims to pursue concrete steps along the direction (to switch from price policy to income policy) shown by the Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas enacted in July 1997. Discussions on the bill had been deepened through revisions of the Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in March 2005, and compilation of the Framework of Farming Business and Income Stabilization Measures. Core farming entities covered by the new stabilization measures are the 'approved farmers' with more than 4 hectares of land under their holding in prefectures and more than 10 hectares in Hokkaido, as well as community farming organizations with more than 20 hectares of land. For hilly or mountainous areas where it is difficult to expand the size of operation and for multiple farming, special measures will be provided for so that farm businesses of smaller size can be eligible for the stabilization measures. The focus now will shift on fixing the contents of support under the new measures slated to be introduced from FY2007, and the substance of support to be given to soybean, wheat & barley which will be newly brought under cultivation. How many core farm entities the new measures will be able to foster or secure is going to be the major challenge. |
||
|
|
||
 |
 |