Activities of the National Council of Agricultural Cooperative Women’s Associationsand women’s active roles in Japan’s

agricultural communities

September 2nd, 2010

Chieko FujikiNational Council of Agricultural

Cooperative Women’s Associations

Historical expansionof Japan Agricultural Cooperative Women’s Associations

YearNumber of prefectural organization members

1949 3

1955 39

1959 45

196647

(all prefecturals)

Number of organizational units and individual members

No. of organizations No. of members

No. of organizations No. of members （ people ）

Mission Statement of JA Women’s Organizations

1. We are committed to use our united power to protect women’s rights and enhance the social and economical status of women.

2. We strive to promote women’s participation and involvement in order to reflect their voices in the JA Co-operative Movement, and take action related to the movement.

3. We devote ourselves, through co-operative activities by women, to establishing comfortable local communities where people can enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle with better communications and mutual assistance.

Percentage of female agricultural operators

FY2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Members of farm households 9,400 8,370 7,931 7,640 7,295 6,979

(Women) 4,800 4,255 4,037 3,887 3,709 3,542

Percentage of women 51.1 50.8 50.9 50.9 50.8 50.8

Agricultural operators 3,622 3,352 3,205 3,119 2,986 2,895

(Women) 2,000 1,788 1,718 1,668 1,597 1,546

Percentage of women 55.2 53.3 53.6 53.5 53.5 53.4

(unit: thousand, %)

Promotion of women’s involvementin organizational operations at the JA Group

Numerical targets of the JA Group:

Resolutions at the 25th JA National Convention in 2009

・ Female regular members (total): 25%

・ Female regular members of large JA units: 10%

・ Female executives of each JA unit: 2 or more

Women’s representation of JA membership T

ota

l JA

m

embe

rs

(peo

ple)

Pro

por

tion

of w

omen

(%

)

No. of members

No. of women

% of women

Women executives at JA N

o. o

f ex

ecut

ives

(n

atio

nw

ide

)

Pro

por

tion

of w

omen

(%

)

No. of executives (nationwide)

No. of women executives

% of women

JA Saga Female Member’s Convention

Promoting “local production for local consumption”

Photos: Ie-No-Hikari Association

Educational programs on food and agriculture

Cooking class

Agricultural experience

Handmade miso (bean paste)

Adult daytime service