Japan Press Weekly

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2008 September 3 - 9 [AGRICULTURE]

JCP Chair Shii calls on agricultural cooperatives for common action to raise food self-sufficiency rate

The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), which elected Moteki Mamoru as its 12th president, held a reception to introduce the new leader on September 3 in Tokyo.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo used his speech at the reception to call on JA for common action aimed at improving Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate.

The following is the gist of Shii’s speech:

“Today, Japan and the world are in a turbulent situation regarding food and agriculture. The food shortage is a serious global issue. The soaring crude oil prices have dealt a serious blow to family farmers in Japan. The biggest problem for us is the fact that Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate has declined to 40 percent. I am sure that everyone here agrees with the need to increase the food self-supply rate to 50 or 60 percent as the primary task that must be urgently dealt with.

The question is how to increase the food self-sufficiency rate. I think that a drastic improvement in the price/income guarantee system is necessary to ensure agricultural expansion. Both the European Union (EU) and the United States guarantee agricultural reproduction using price/income guarantees systems. The JCP maintains that an income guarantee of 18,000 yen per bale of rice is necessary, including the price guarantee of 17,000 yen at least.

The other question concerns border measures. Since agricultural products are different in character from industrial products, the thinking that cheaper food from abroad will help no longer is tenable throughout the world.

It is also clear that the WTO framework agreement is now found to be outdated. Following the rupture of the WTO negotiations in late July, all agricultural organizations in the world, including JA, published a joint statement. It pointed out that the food crisis today has not been caused by weak trade but by the shortage of local food, and clearly stated that every nation has sovereign rights over food to produce food for domestic consumption.

It is necessary to review the endless moves to further liberalize agricultural imports from the viewpoint of guaranteeing sovereign rights over food. It is also necessary to review the WTO, an international organization fundamentally designed to protect the interests of exporting countries.”