Governance of wide-area JA under the revised Agricultural Cooperative Law

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K05869
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 41020:Rural sociology and agricultural structure-related
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University
• Principal Investigator: Kobayashi HAJIME 広島大学, 統合生命科学研究科(生), 専門研究員 (40762779)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 農協改革 / JAのガバナンス / 改正農協法 / 担い手農業者 / 准組合員 / 集落

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Under the revised Agricultural Cooperative Law, JA's widespread governance requires the institutional involvement of leading farmers. However, it has become clear that the current governance of JA is characterized by the participation of union members based on historical settlements and the management of organizations and businesses by full-time directors, mainly those who have experience as JA staff.
Moreover, in recent years, the management participation of associate members required by the reform of agricultural cooperatives is progressing. However, the management participation of associate members has just begun, and it is limited to some participation such as monitors. The management of associate members in a cooperative as a member organization is a topic for the future.

Free Research Field

農業経営

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

政府が進めた農協改革の下で、JAは改正農協法に基づく、新たなJA運営＝ガバナンスに取り組んでいる。その中で、担い手農業者のJA運営への関与が広がると共に、准組合員の運営参加も広がりつつある。わが国の食と農を守る協同組合として、JAは幅広い意見に基づいて運営を変革させつつある。他方で、集落など地域の課題に対して、組合員の参加によって、よりよい運営を目指していることが明らかとなった。
以上から、農協改革を契機としたJAの改革は進みつつあり、同時に今後も自己改革を進めることで、食と農、地域における役割を発揮しうる組織であることが期待されている。