Message from the President
Upon Assuming Office
It is my pleasure to inform you that I have assumed the position of President of the Institute for the Development of Agricultural Cooperation in Asia (IDACA).
Coinciding with my inauguration as the 17th President of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU), Japan, I am greatly honored to take leadership as President of IDACA in order to contribute to the promotion of agricultural cooperatives as well as to the overall development of agriculture in the Asia-Pacific and African regions.
This year marks the 63rd anniversary of IDACA. In my home prefecture of Nagano, we have welcomed many participants to the training courses IDACA has hosted so far, and I feel a strong sense of engagement and appreciation for these longstanding ties.
Nagano Prefecture, where I come from, is an agricultural region blessed with mountains and clear water. My family has produced apples and grapes for a long time, and I produce several fruits now. Furthermore, I have devoted myself for over 40 years to the work of a local agricultural cooperative (JA) as a staff member as well as president and later, I was elected as President of the JA Nagano Prefectural Union of Agricultural Cooperatives.
The environment Japanese farmers face recently is getting more serious than ever with rapid and significant changes. Unstable international political conditions have driven up the prices of fertilizers and fuel, putting pressure on farm management. Even when farmers adopt the latest technologies, work to improve the quality of their products, and carefully manage their products with great dedication, extreme weather—such as intense heat, heavy rainfall, and typhoons—strikes without mercy, sometimes sweeping everything away. In addition, damages caused by wild animals such as wild boars and deer have become a growing concern. I believe that farmers in Asia-Pacific and African regions are also facing a wide range of challenges on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances, we must fulfill our role in building a society in which people can have access to adequate and high-quality food equitably. I believe farmers and agricultural cooperatives are at the core of this effort. Our mission is to create an environment in which farmers can continue their work with confidence, and to sustain an agricultural foundation that ensures an adequate food supply.
As agriculture in the Asia-Pacific and African regions continues to develop, I sincerely hope farmers will be able to engage in agriculture with pride. In this regard, it would be a pleasure if the experience of JA Group could serve as a model for the development of agriculture and the cooperative movement in these regions.
All of us at IDACA will make every effort to strengthen the ties among people and among countries, and I sincerely hope we learn together to build a better future for agriculture and agricultural cooperatives. With a deep sense of joy in walking this path together with you, I would like to conclude my remarks.
President of JA-ZENCHU
