| NEWS |
First Group of Special Zones for Structural
Reform Includes Agricultural Projects
On April 21, the government gave
its official approval to 57 projects
making up
Eight projects to allow ordinary companies
to lease
agricultural land were approved on this occasion.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF) Management Improvement
Bureau expects the projects to be
of benefit and commented, "There is
a shortage of able and motivated
farmers in areas prone to landslip, and in
some areas, urgent action is needed
to preserve farmland. We believe
these new systems will be effective in such
areas."
[Return]
Annual Report on Food,
Agriculture and Rural Areas Stresses Need
for Reform of Food Safety
Administration, Importance of Food Education
Promoting food education will be of growing importance for the assurance of food safety and peace of mind--one of the conclusions of the Fiscal 2002 Annual Report on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) on April 23, which positions the fostering of "core farmers" and the assurance of food safety as key issues. The Report states that MAFF plans to undertake a fundamental reform of food safety administration, learning from its mistakes in the handling of the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis. It calls on producers to make themselves more "visible" to the consumer through initiatives such as the Slow Food movement and promoting the consumption of local products.
The Report is divided into three chapters, "Establishing a Stable Food Supply System", "Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Development Through Structural Reform" and "Beauty and Vitality in Rural Areas and the Actualization of a Recycling-Oriented Society", mirroring the content of the Plan for the Regeneration of Food and Farming.
In connection with the issue of assuring food safety, the Report refers to the proposed Basic Law on Food Safety, currently under discussion by the Diet. The Report emphasizes the importance of exchanging information and opinions with the general public on the risk to health presented by foods (risk communication) under the new approach to food safety administration based on this law, and calls for active participation by both producers and consumers.
With respect to food education, in particular, in addition to the implementation of dietary guidelines as to date, the Report emphasizes the importance of involving households, schools and local communities in the work of promoting knowledge of sensible dietary habits, food safety and regional food culture.
The Report identifies a medium-to-long term
risk that production
conditions overseas will lead to a fall in
the supply of food, cause for
concern to
[Return]
MAFF Expands Statistics
Posted at Website
As of April 1, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has expanded the range and volume of statistical data posted at its website and made the information easier to use. The statistics have been entered into a database, making it easy to view data for past years, download data directly to a personal computer and compile graphs and tables. The search function has also been made easier to use.
Until now, only the latest statistics have been posted at the MAFF website, but the enhanced service gives access to back data for several decades. For instance, the database includes the Agricultural Production Income Statistics for the past 46 years.
A total of 40 types of data, including the results of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry, have been posted at the MAFF website since the beginning of April. All can be downloaded to a personal computer, to save labor on data entry.
The search function has also been improved,
allowing users to look up
the statistical tables they require by entering
a key word or phrase such as
"number of farmers" or "rice".
MAFF comments, "We believe the
enhanced service will make it easy for those
who are not familiar with the
agriculture, forestry or fisheries industries,
and school children or
university students who use the information
for study purposes, to find the
information they require."
[Return]
Number of Beef Farmers Falling; Scale of Livestock Farms Growing
The latest Statistics on Livestock published
by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
on April 30 reveal that the number
of dairy farmers in
As of
The number of beef farmers was down 5.9% on 2002, at 98,100, while the number of animals was down 1.2% to 2,804,000. The number of beef breed animals was level with 2002 at 1,705,000, while the number of dairy breed animals was down 2.4% at 1,100,000. The number of animals per farm was 29, up two on 2002.
The number of pig farms was down 5.7% at
9,430. The total number of pigs was
up 1.2% at
9,725,000. The number of animals
per farm was 1,031, topping 1,000 for the
first time. The number of egg farmers
was down 4.2%
at 4,340. The number of laying hens
per farm was up 1,200 at 31,600.
[Return]
MAFF Launches Review of Plant Quarantine Systems
On May 7, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF)
convened the first meeting of the Plant Quarantine
Study Group, launching a
review of quarantine systems in response
to the growth of plant imports to
MAFF points out the danger that the growth of imports of fruit, cut flowers, lumber, etc. and the diversification of countries of origin, increases the risk of diseases and insect pests entering the country.
Since the amendment of the Law on Plant Protection in 1996, there have been calls for the establishment of watertight plant quarantine measures, for action to assure food safety and peace of mind, for measures to speed up quarantine procedures, for the Plant Protection Station to function on a 24-hour basis, and for the harmonization of procedures with international standards.
The Study Group will meet roughly once a
month. The Study Group aims to identify
specific issues for discussion at its next
meeting and publish a report by the
end of September.
[Return]
On April 30, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki Kamei, currently visiting Europe, and EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries Franz Fischler met for talks in Brussels (Belgium), at which they confirmed that Japan and the EU will continue to cooperate in the WTO agriculture negotiations, and will continue to press for concessions from net exporters of agricultural products, such as the United States in connection with the "modalities" (standards for the reduction of protection measures) that are to be established ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting at Cancun (Mexico), in September.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) published
a summary account of the talks on May 1.
Mr. Kamei emphasized, "
Mr. Fischler, referring to the approach to
tariff reduction aiming to assure "flexibility
among commodities"
that is advocated by both
Before his meeting with Mr. Fischler, Mr.
Kamei also had talks with EU Commissioner
for Trade Pascal Lamy,
which confirmed that
[Return]
Minister Seeks
Understanding of WTO Director General and
Chairman of Special Session on
Agriculture for
On May 2, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries Yoshiyuki
Kamei met Supachai Panitchpakdi,
Director-General of the WTO and Stuart Harbinson,
Chairman of the Special Session of the WTO
Committee on Agriculture for talks
at the headquarters of the WTO in
Mr. Kamei explained
The central issues under discussion can only
be resolved by
negotiation between the member countries
of the WTO, and if agreement is to be
reached, it is essential for countries that
are making excessive demands to be
more realistic. At present,
progress in the agriculture negotiations
is being obstructed by the adherence
of the
Dr. Supachai answered Mr. Kamei as follows:
The OECD ministerial conference and WTO informal
ministerial meeting
in
To achieve progress in the agriculture negotiations
and ensure the
success of the ministerial meeting at
Mr. Kamei countered by re-emphasizing Japan's position, citing the problem of food security, the fact that Japan imports agricultural products in large volumes, and the problems facing domestic agriculture.
With regard to forestry and fisheries, Mr.
Kamei said that, if only
to promote the sustainable use of limited
natural resources that forestry and
fisheries represent, the formula for tariff
reduction should be an average
tariff reduction formula providing for flexibility
among commodities. He added that to
abolish tariffs on
forestry and fisheries products at a time
when the world's forests and
fisheries resources are shrinking would be
to risk a further decline in
resources in the medium-to-long term, and
emphasized that tariff reduction
within forestry and fisheries products would
be difficult.
[Return]
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) announced,
on May 12, that Animal Quarantine Service
inspectors had detected avian
influenza (fowl plague) in duck meat originating
in China, and that it was
imposing a temporary ban on poultry and poultry
products from that
country. The ban is intended to
prevent the avian influenza virus from entering
The duck meat in question originated in
[Return]
GM Rice Could Replace Injections for Diabetes Patients
Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences and Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusyo Co., Ltd. announced on May 12 that they had jointly developed a genetically modified (GM) rice that has the property of adjusting blood sugar level. The rice is to be developed on a commercial basis for use by those suffering from diabetes mellitus, by 2006. The developers claim that one helping of the rice will provide the same effect as an injection of insulin, and plan to market it at a price similar to that of ordinary varieties.
Genetic recombination technology was used to create rice containing a hormone that promotes the secretion of insulin after a meal. The developers claim that, because this hormone promotes the secretion of insulin only when the blood sugar level is high, there is no danger of the blood sugar falling too low.
Development work on genetic recombination
techniques will continue
with a view to increasing the hormone content
of the rice to 300% or more. At this
level, a single serving of rice
would contain approximately 500 mg of the
hormone, and insulin injections would
no longer be necessary. The
developers will verify the safety of the
rice over the next 2-3 years by means
of animal trials, etc.
[Return]
MAFF to Elucidate Key Genetic Functions of Rice
Following on from the completion of the decoding of the base sequence of the rice genome, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is to begin work, this fiscal year, on elucidating the functions of the genes that hold the key to the development of useful varieties such as "high-quality" rice and rice that is resistant to diseases and insect pests. Last year, MAFF invited the scientific community to suggest themes for research, and selected 36 themes on the basis of the suggestions received.
The decoding of the base sequence of the rice genome was completed in December 2002, but the actual meaning of each part of the sequence is still "encrypted". The work of identifying which sections actually contain the genetic information will begin in earnest this year.
MAFF will be focusing on the discovery of genes responsible for five key functions (i) producing a rice that is "high-quality", (ii) producing functional materials, (iii) boosting photosynthesis, (iv) increasing resistance to diseases and insect pests, and (v) improving performance under adverse conditions. MAFF has appropriated a budget of 720 million yen for the fiscal year, and plans to start research that will pave the way for the development of specific varieties.
MAFF maintains that the successful pursuit
of this research work will
require a concerted effort by the scientific
community in Japan, and for this
reason invited the scientific community to
suggest research themes that would
pave the way to the elucidation of these
five key functions. A total of 133
suggestions were
submitted, from which MAFF selected 32.
The four remaining themes were decided by
MAFF itself.
[Return]
Deflation in Prices of Agricultural Products Accelerating
Deflation in the prices of agricultural products is accelerating. A survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) reveals that the general price index of agricultural products, which reflects the price of rice and vegetables etc. shipped by farmers, fell to 78.9% in 2002 (1991 = 100), down for the fourth year in succession. MAFF will be incorporating its analysis of the movements of the index into the Fiscal 2002 Annual Report on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, due to be published in late May.
The draft Report shows that farmers' shipping prices have fallen by more than 20% since 1991. Between 1998 and 2001, in particular, prices fell by around 15%. The principal cause of price deflation among agricultural products has been the release onto the market of rice other than for government-planned distribution, whose sale has been permitted since 1995, causing the price of rice, which has a relatively high weight in the index, to fall by around 30%.
In the past, the government controlled the price of rice, but the volume of direct sales by producers to consumers and sales on the open market has risen. Competition with imports has also caused the price of vegetables to fall by more than 20% over the last ten years.
By contrast, food retail prices have remained
virtually
unchanged. This is thought to be
due to costs incurred in the processing and
distribution processes, which mean
that the benefits of the fall in the price
of agricultural products are not
being passed on to the consumers.
[Return]
MAFF to Harness JAS Mark as Means of Ensuring Beef Traceability
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on April 29 that it has decided to harness the JAS mark as a means of ensuring the traceability of beef and beef products. Permission to use the JAS mark will be conditional on the recording and disclosure of information such as the names of feeds given to cattle and the establishment of systems that allow consumers to verify the content of this information. The labels on beef qualifying for the JAS mark will bear the words seisan joho kohyo gyuniku ["production information disclosed beef"].
The decision will be formalized at a General Meeting of the Research Committee for the Japanese Standard of Agricultural and Forestry Products (JAS) to be held this autumn, and the system is likely to be implemented in FY 2004.
The Diet is currently debating a draft Beef Traceability Law that would require producers to allow consumers to access production information over the Internet. Under the new JAS standard, farmers must record, store and disclose information such as the names of feeds and pharmaceuticals given to cattle, which they are not required to do under the Beef Traceability Law. The producer's telephone number and website address must be displayed on packaging and POP panels in stores, to allow consumers to obtain information on demand.
In addition to the name of the cut, the packaging of beef that meets these requirements will bear the words seisan joho kohyo gyuniku ["production information disclosed beef"]. The creation of a special JAS mark for beef is being considered. As with other JAS mark foods, would-be users will have to apply to a government-registered certifying organization, and will only receive permission to use the mark once it has been confirmed that they meet the requirements.
MAFF recognizes that the JAS standard may
have to be modified to some
extent, depending on the content of the Law,
once it is passed, and of the
associated government and ministerial ordinances.
[Return]
| COMMENT |
Symbiosis and Exchange: The Need for Popular Action
The phrase kyosei to tairyu ["symbiosis and exchange"] is very much in evidence, these days. It has become the slogan of a popular movement, involving both government and non-government organizations, that seeks to promote exchange between urban areas (cities) and rural areas (farming, mountain and fishing communities), with a view to the revitalization of both. There is much to hope for from a movement that seeks to encourage primary industry and regenerate not only urban areas, but the entire Japanese archipelago, including rural areas. For this reason, government organizations and NGOs should work together to rouse popular interest.
The word "exchange", as used in this sense, made its first appearance in a government policy document with the title "Structural Reform of the Japanese Economy: Basic Policies for Macroeconomic Management", popularly known as the hone-buto no hoshin ["strong bones policy"] document, published two years ago. "Symbiosis and exchange between rural and urban areas" is a key element of the program for the promotion of regional autonomy and revitalization outlined in this document. Since its publication, government ministries have used the word "exchange" in the wording of policies relating to the actualization of the "strong bones policy".
The word "exchange" is an extension of the concept of "symbiosis", which in this context means producers and consumers, farming villages and cities, etc. not sticking rigidly to their own viewpoints but recognizing the validity of each other's position. The Association of Organizations Promoting Symbiosis and Exchange between Urban and Rural Areas, whose purpose is to promote "exchange" as a popular movement, defines the concept as follows: "Encouraging the movement of people, products and information leads to new forms of exchange between urban and rural areas and makes it possible to build a common basis for growth and development".
Encouraging more city people to settle in (rural) areas where the permanent population is shrinking and aging due to a falling birthrate and rural depopulation seems like a logical approach to the revitalization of those areas. Clearly, the intention is that people from urban and rural areas should not simply accept each other's point of view, but that the mutual stimulus provided should contribute to growth and development of Japan's economy and society.
Early this year, a drive to promote "exchange" started to take shape. In March, a project team made up of senior vice-ministers from eight government ministries and agencies involved in the implementation of the "strong bones policy", including the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), proposed the establishment of an organization for the promotion of "exchange" as a popular movement. A meeting of the promoters of the Association of Organizations Promoting Symbiosis and Exchange between Urban and Rural Areas, an NGO whose membership includes business enterprises, municipal governments and individuals, is to launch an organization for the promotion of "exchange" as a popular movement by June. The Liberal Democratic Party has likewise established a "Study Group on the Promotion of Symbiosis and Exchange between Urban and Rural Areas", which will be looking at measures to "encourage the people of Japan to enjoy the life and culture of both urban and rural areas".
Since the adoption of the "strong bones policy", government ministries and agencies have touted a range of measures designed to promote "exchange". Besides the policies introduced by MAFF, the importance assigned to "exchange" may be seen in programs for the support of community development (Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications), the promotion of employment in farming, fishing and forestry (Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare), the expansion of sales channels for local industry (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), and the construction of good quality housing in country areas (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport). Although each ministry emphasizes that its own measures will promote "exchange", there is no evidence that the government as a whole is taking a systematic approach to the task.
"Exchange" is an excellent idea, but the measures advocated under the "strong bones policy" and proposed by Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy are not enough to rouse popular interest. Although "exchange" is held up as the star attraction of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic and fiscal reform program, economic conditions in the regions show no sign of improving. Structural reform and public works spending cuts have sapped the vitality of agriculture and local industry and local government authorities themselves are in financial difficulties. Given that the concept of "exchange" was surely intended to resolve problems of this nature, the government should review the measures devised by the individual ministries and set about promoting "exchange" as a popular movement.
(from an
editorial in the May 13, 2003 issue of the
Nihon NogyoShimbun)
[Return]