The ICA-MAFF (Government of Japan) Training Course on Capacity Building of Rural Women on Their Roles for Vitalization of Rural Economy in FY-2024 was held in Thailand and Japan from 17 February – 12 March. Part I of the training course was organized in collaboration with the Cooperative League of Thailand (CLT) in Bangkok, Thailand from 17 to 26 February, and Part II was in collaboration with the Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia (IDACA) in Tokyo, Japan from 27 February to 12 March. The training course was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Government of Japan, and implemented by the ICA. Seven trainees from seven countries Cambodia, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in the course.

Before the start of the course, the participants were given Home Country Assignments where they watched learning videos made by IDACA and prepared their job reports.

The opening ceremony of the training program was held at CLT in a hybrid format and was attended by the representatives of MAFF (Government of Japan), IDACA, CLT, and ICA-AP. Part I covered learning visits to cooperative enterprises run by women and observation of activities to promote rural women’s empowerment. The participants also learned about the cooperative sector in Thailand from CLT; Government programs to promote and support the development of cooperatives implemented by the Cooperative Promotion Department; and the auditing process for cooperatives undertaken by the Cooperative Auditing Department.

Learning visits were organized to small-scale cooperative enterprises run by rural women involved in the production of consumer products such as rice crackers, rice granola bars, rice-based ice cream, mango sticky rice, chilli paste, ceramic pottery, batik-based clothes and accessories, hand-woven fabrics and fruit juices. These enterprises have mostly women members and workers from rural and semi-rural areas. Some of them are elderly women, single women, and farmers who are looking for additional livelihood support. Local agricultural cooperatives, CPD, and CLT provide them with technical support and assistance related to finance opportunities, market knowledge, and trainings to improve their production quality and operational efficiency.

Part II was a combination of onsite lectures and learning visits to JA Echigo Chuetsu (primary agriculture cooperative), agricultural processing facilities, direct-sales shops, women farmers and women’s groups, and a milk farm in Nagaoka city in Niigata prefecture and Machida city in Tokyo metropolis in Japan. During the visits, the participants learned about new concepts such as the 6th industrialization process in the agriculture sector of Japan, as part of which, farmers grow their crops, process them into a variety of products, and directly sell the final products on their own. The other concepts that they found useful were – NoWA – a voluntary group of women farmers; and Japan Good Agricultural Practices (JGAP) certification. With this certification, the farmers can sell their products at a premium price. The participants got an opportunity to observe the operations of the seedling facility, country elevator (rice processing facility) and direct sales shops in Nagaoka City. They met members of the Women’s Association of JA Echigo Chuetsu and learned about their functioning, management, and activities for women’s empowerment and community development. They got an opportunity to interact with elderly women who run small-scale community businesses selling traditional delicacies such as “sake manju” or fluffy buns and sweet dumplings wrapped in Sasa bamboo leaves. The businesses run by these women are non-profit in nature and are being carried out to pass on delicacies made with traditional recipes to the younger generation.

During Part II, participants also received guidance from IDACA and ICA-AP on their action plans. The participants prepared their draft action plans with the primary objective of developing the capacity of rural women farmers and improving their incomes. They are expected to submit their final action plans after internal consultations with their cooperatives in April.

The closing ceremony was attended by representatives from MAFF (Government of Japan), IDACA, and ICA-AP. The participants were awarded certificates at the end of each part of the training course.