The Specialized Farmers' Co-operative Law in China was enacted in 2007, which brought a rapid increase in the number of Farmers' co-operatives across China. However, it is doubtful that the actual conditions of the co-operatives have the essence of being co-operative. Though dozens of studies have classifed the co-operatives on the basis of who organized them, this methodology of classification is insufficient to truly reveal the factual situation of the cooperatives. Therefore, in this paper we sort the cooperatives from the viewpoint of business entity type, based on the investigation conducted in an agricultural-industrialized coastland area of Jiangsu Province, China. Excluding the famers' co-operatives that are true cooperative associations, and co-operatives for which the possibility of developing similar to Japanese cooperatives is possible, many of the remaing co-operatives have a strong private enterprise character, which impedes their development as a true cooperative association.

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It is important to analyze the development of Farmers Markets. This The clarifies the development of Farmers Markets in area in which market competition is occuring, Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The main conclusions of this paper summarized as follows. There are three management styles, consisting of a 'community business type (kitera)', a 'JA Farmers Market type (kisaikan)', and a 'corporate management type (yottette)'. The primary distinction between the three types is compartmentalization in collection area and sales area. The 'coexistence and co-prosperity' of Farmers Markets in competing areas was found to be possible by the characteristic of management and the compartmentalization in collection area and sales area. Further, reservations by shippers and reservations by repeat customers was maintained through techniques such as urban-rural interchange.

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This study clarifies the identity of various farmers' markets. Through analysis of survey questionnaire from Y city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan we analyzed consumer's reason for store selection among farmers' markets and supermarkets. Firstly, factor analysis was applied to the data set in order to extract factors of consumer's store choice; the relationship with the store, the presence of local products, various convenience factors, and values added aspects. Secondly, cluster analysis was applied to these four factor scores, thereby classifying the farmers' markets and supermarkets into four groups each with different store identities. The first group consists of famers' markets which are characterized by local production and as having value added on the store. The second group consists of farmers' markets and cooperative supermarkets characterized by local production and as based on a relationship with consumers. The third and fourth groups consist of only supermarkets which are convenient and value added stores. In conclusion, 'face to face relationships, sense of trust, product safety and product freshness' were identified as the identity of farmers' markets, which differentiated them from supermarkets.

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Although exports of Japanese agricultural products have expanded broadly, the export system has been evolved in recent years. Particularly, export production areas are being forced to respond systematically to the detection of specific pests and the influence of the Fukushima nuclear accidents. This paper considers that institutional change applied to agricultural exports after agricultural policy conversion, and organizes how these affect the market structure in Taiwan. In August 2010, Taiwan's import quarantine inspection detected pests in imports of Japanese peaches. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries halted exports to Taiwan of the rejected prefecture's fruit. A subsequent report by the Japanese on the determination of the cause and remedial measures was submitted to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine in Taiwan, and exports were resumed in December 2010. This case can be regarded as an example of a response in which the fruits harvested in all orchards near the sorting-packing facility which shipped rejected products will be suspended in response to phytosanitary irregularities in the export of Japanese fruits to Taiwan. In addition, regulatory action has been taken by each export destination region, including Taiwan, regarding the Fukushima nuclear accidents in 2011. Regulatory action is seen as different in each region, and a significant impact on future exports continued in some areas, such as the import ban has been continued.

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Since 1995, when the Green Tourism Act was enforced, Rural-Inns Managed by Families Engaged in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery has been promoted as a part of rural agricultural policy. After 2003, when the Accommodation Business Act provided for future deregulation, the number or Rural Inns with 'less than 33 square meters room area' increased sharply. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has surveyed the number of such Rural-Inns every five years in the Census of Agriculture and Forestry and the Census of Fisheries. In addition, the Green Tourism division of MAFF also has surveyed the number of Less-Regulated Rural-Inns (defined as 'less than 33 square meters room area') every year. However, both of these data sets exhibit difficulties in illuminating the actual situation of these Less-Regulated Rural-Inns. In general, Rural-Inns have to get a license as a Restaurant Business as dictated by the Food Sanitation Act. However, there remain many Small-Rural-Inns that do not have the required restaurant licence all over Japan. This paper examines the problems of MAFF statistics, describing a new approach to obtaining an accurate view of Less-Regulated Rural-Inns, available by using the Information Disclosure System as it exists in Kyoto Prefecture.

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In this paper, three areas of Damaoqi, in Inner Mongolia, China, are presented in order to evaluate the influences of a comprehensive grazing policy on the management of animal husbandry and the lifestyle that result. The impact of this policy on the lifestyle of herdsmen and future perspectives is also discussed. The main results are as follows. Owing to the decrease of husbandry income, already deflated net incomes in 2010 became lower than those of 1990. Common to the three areas is that more than half of the herdsmen's incomes now originate from sources and enterprises, including subsidies, other than husbandry. Third, the settlement policy has influenced the husbandry practices and employment of herdsmen by virture of the fact that the herdsmen who migrated to the industrialized area keep a dramatically decreased number of livestock. This results in both an increase in animal operating costs and a lack of industrialization in management and operations of husbandry practices. However, herder consciousness about life satisfaction and the practice of working away from home by migration reveals a difference between the three regions, brought about by the decreased scale of livestock management and the feasibility of continuing animal husbandry. In the future, independent living skills without the government's subsidy should be cultivated for those migrated herdsmen.

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The School Meal System in Vietnam is now under rapid development, especially the rural areas in the northern parts of the country, where many industrial factories are newly being established. Parents who used to be farmers and now work at the factories expect the schools to provide meals to their children, as they cannot attend to supplying meals while they are working. However, there are many difficulties concerning the practice of providing school meals for students, such as difficulties in the procurement of safe materials, a lack of nutrition experts to oversee preparation, and a lack of the necessary infrastructure. This paper illustrates the difficulties of developing and maintaining such policies unders circumstances of rapid economic growth.

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This study presents an analysis of a case study of village Z, located in Sichuan Province, China, with respect to the practice of part time farming by workers working away from home and the diversification in the scale of farming. As such it presents a view of Chinese inland farming villages. As almost all of part-time farmers in village Z who work away from home, either in Chengdu City or other cities in Guangdong province, return to the village only temporarily to farm their own land in the busy farming seasons but also refuse to vacate their land, the lenders of their land usage rights are scarce. On the other hand, many full-time farmers who have raised vegetables since the mid-1990s have been able to live on their farming income on the basis of small planted areas without expanding the scale of their activities by renting out their land. These scarcities of borrowing and lending intentions have restricted the liquidation of farmland and without leading to the creation of upper-class farming households in the village Z.

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This paper analyzes the current status and brand management strategy issues in production areas growing azuki beans. The research is based on an investigation of the "Kasuga-dainagon" that is grown by JA Tanbahikami. The findings from this research are as follows; first native species of azuki beans from the region are vital to the existence of this brand; secondly depending on the method of harvesting that is used, the azuki beans vary in quality and price and are sold based on these various levels. This means that the production areas of the azuki beans can be maintained corresponding to the needs of the customer. One issue that arises about this cultivation and management method is that the management of these various levels of the Kasuga-dainagon brand is highly labor intensive.

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