The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of the Government of Japan has collaborated with the International Cooperative Alliance through its Asia-Pacific Regional Office (ICA-AP) to implement the Capacity Building Project for Agricultural Cooperative Sector in Asia and Africa (CBC Project in AA) in FY2023 of Japan.
As part of this project, the 1st ICA-MAFF (Japan) Training Course on Capacity Building of Farmers to Respond to Challenges through Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in FY-2023 was held in Japan from January 21 to February 03, 2024. The course was organized in collaboration with the Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia (IDACA) and the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO).
A total of five participants (representatives of WFO member organisations) from Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Uganda in Africa along with a WFO representative as an observer visited Japan to build their capacities and learn the ways farmers are organized into cooperatives in Japan and how to establish and strengthen agricultural businesses.
Before commencing the on-site training, the selected participants undertook home country assignments wherein they watched pre-recorded videos about Japanese Agricultural Cooperatives (JAs) and prepared their draft action plans for the development of their respective organizations.
During the two-week training in Japan, the participants had the opportunity to visit JA Chibamidori and JA Tomisato-Shi, and a few farms (TN farm, Saito Farm, ECA farm, and a carrot farm) engaged in horticulture in the Chiba Prefecture and the Zen-Noh Research & Development Center to learn first-hand about the organisation and functioning of JAs, farm guidance and support to member farmers, 6th industrialization, marketing and distribution channels, quality assurance of products, organic farming, and farm business management.
The field visits were followed by classroom sessions with agriculture professionals and experts who shared insights on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Certification, technical and quality management, Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) method via case studies from Sudan, and rural financing through government schemes for farmers in Japan.
Participants also received guidance to develop their action plans which focused on improving the income of farmers in Africa by increasing production and marketing activities, capacity building of farmers and cooperative leaders, fish farming, and women inclusion in agri-businesses.
The training concluded with the presentation of action plans by the participants. A closing ceremony was organized to congratulate and felicitate the participants on the successful completion of the training. It was attended by Mr. Daisuke Asano, Counsellor of Emerging Region Division, Export and International Affairs Bureau, MAFF, Mr. Toshihiko Baba, Senior Executive Director, Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Zenchu), Mr. Hirofumi Kobayashi, Executive Director, IDACA, Mr. Andrea Porro, Secretary General, WFO and Mr. Balasubramanian Iyer, Regional Director, ICA-AP along with program coordinators of IDACA, WFO and ICA-AP. The participants were awarded certificates of participation.
