Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Growing the
Business of
AIZAWA TADASHI
Agriculture
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Vigorous efforts around the country to strengthen links among the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries industries, commerce industry and manufacturing industry are yielding new products and
services, and revitalizing local areas. The Japan Journal reports.
AIZAWA TADASHI
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consumption is cut by about 40%. The
resulting produce is sold to convenience
stores and supermarkets.
Traditional agriculture is heavily
influenced by the natural environment,
says Abe. Consumers are also increasingly concerned about food safety. Our
plant factory can help address these issues. They can also be used by somebody having no experience in agriculture. They make farming like operating
a company.
Granpas plant factories are the first
in the world to use such a system. Its
therefore no surprise that inquiries and
observers have been pouring in from
elsewhere in Japan and the rest of the
world too. Having patented its plant factory, Granpa is now moving to export
them overseas. Two are scheduled to be
built in China before the end of the year.
Inquiries have also come in from Middle
Eastern countries like Qatar and Oman.
To help in the recovery of Iwate
Prefecture city in Rikuzentakata, which
suffered damage in the Great East Japan
Earthquake, Granpa built eight of its
plant factories there with government
support. Ongoing research aims to further cut operating cost and improve productivity through the use of ground
water and solar heat.
The world might have to face food
shortages owing to rising population
and global warming, says Abe. I hope
to make farming into an attractive industry so a lot more young people will
try it. If that were to happen, thered be
even further technological innovations.
In that sense, Japan can play a big role
in global agriculture.
Applying Manufacturing
Technology and Commercial
Know-how to Farming
more details.)
Michi no Eki
SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI
SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI
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COVER STORY
The Japan
International
In addition to road side stations, yet an- C o o p e r a t i o n
other example of the way Japanese-style Agency (JICA) is
linkages among agriculture, commerce working to apply
and manufacturing are spreading t h e O V O P a p throughout developing countries is the proach in helping
One Village One Product (OVOP) to stimulate regionmovement. The approach got its start in a l e c o n o m i c a d Kyushus Oita Prefecture in the 1960s, vancement in deand by 1979, had grown into a major ef- veloping countries.
fort in all cities, towns and villages in JICA is providing
Oita Prefecture to promote the region. support for such
There are three concepts underlying programs in Asian
OVOP. The first is Think globally, act countries, including
Pots of mango jam (center), made by a group taking part in
locally. This means building a national China, Thailand,
the Ethiopian OVOP project, on sale in a local supermarket
and global appeal by highlighting local M a l a y s i a , L a o s
culture and ambience. The second con- and Kyrgyzstan,
cept is self-reliance creativity and imagi- i n the Latin American country of cooperatives by government agencies,
native creativity. Local residents them- Columbia, and in African countries district governments, companies, research institutes and other partners.
selves decide what their OVOP products such as Malawi and Kenya.
Its a considerable benefit for
One African nation where JICA is
will be, and through repeated brainstorming, make it as appealing as possi- supporting the OVOP approach is members to form groups/cooperatives
ble. The third idea is human resource Ethiopia. The One Village One Product a n d e n g a g e i n b u s i n e s s , s a y s
development. The goal of the OVOP Promotion project was launched Nakayama. But group/cooperative
movement is to nurture local leaders who from 2010 in the Southern Nations, members have little experience in busiare ready for any challenge and able to Nationalities, and Peoples Region ness, so local NGOs provide a five-day
business management seminar teaching
help the community become highly cre- (SNNPR) in the south of the country.
T h e them how to draft a business plan or
SNNPR region calculate costs.
One distinct feature of the Ethiopian
is a very verd a n t a r e a , OVOP program is matching groups/cosays Nakayama operatives with potential buyers. The coK a n a k o o f operative engaged in making paper from
JICAs Private banana stems was provided with paperS e c t o r making technology by an entrepreneur in
D e v e l o p m e n t the capital of Addis Ababa, and in some
Group. A va- shops, cooperative members are selling
riety of agri- tourists products like photograph stands
cultural prod- made from this paper. In other successes
u c t s c a n b e gradually being achieved, mango jam is
h a r v e s t e d i n now sold in supermarkets and datta is
different areas, being supplied to hotel restaurants.
Encouraged by the groups/cooperso its possible
to make prod- atives that have succeeded, other local
ucts unique to people have started to put more land
Among the fourteen groups/cooperatives involved in the
under cultivation and formed their own
each area.
Ethiopian OVOP project is this bamboo furniture-making group.
The project groups/cooperatives, Nakayama says.
is supporting We have plans to support the activities
ative. Based on these ideals, the goal of fourteen rural farmer groups/cooperatives of an additional thirty-five groups/coopthe OVOP movement is for each city, (of about ten to twenty people) in five eratives. Besides lifting community
town and village to harness its own local woredas (districts) within the region. A pride and energizing the region, the
resources, develop local specialty prod- variety of products are made by the re- activities of these groups/cooperatives
ucts and thereby revitalize its communi- spective groups/cooperatives, including are sure to encourage people in many
ties. Thanks to the OVOP movement, furniture from bamboo, paper from ba- other areas to act on their own to further
Oita Prefecture produce now sold nation- nana stems, mango jam, honey and datta boost the vitality of the region.
wide includes mandarin oranges, kabosu, (chili pepper paste). Technical and marketing support is provided to the groups/ SAWAJI Osamu, The Japan Journal
shiitake mushrooms and barley shochu.
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