Agricultural co-operative marketing, referred to as 'nokyo-kyohan': includes not only marketing conducted by agricultural co-operatives but also collective marketing by farmers themselves. Although nokyo-kyohan had been effective and efficient in an open market system symbolized by central wholesale markets, it is losing effectiveness and efficiency due to structural changes of a alliance market system lead by big supermarket chains along with changes of their inner structure in a diversification of members. An open market system was common from the 1960's to the 1980's, a time of demand expansion of agricultural products in Japan characterized by mass distribution, competitive advantages for wholesale markets and agricultural co-operatives associations. In such a system, nokyo-kyohan aspires toward volume and market share at higher prices. The features of the nokyo-kyohan - homogeneous farmer group, equal participation by members, autonomous governance, management by member representatives, payment depending on shipping volume - fit well to the open system. The alliance market system, major from 1990's in the time of decreasing demands, is characterized by competitive advantage and channel power of big retail chains. In such a system, channel leaders expect suppliers not only supply quantity stability but also quality and price stability, on-time arrival, and 'new' products. Hence, suppliers' sources of competitive advantage trend from 'quantity' and toward such 'stable supply' capabilities. In this system, the nokyo-kyohan exposes the weakness of a multi-layer structure consisting of farmers organization, agricultural co-operatives, and association. In addition, the diversification of farmers in their organization causes difficulties of sharing of goals and equal treatment of members, and weakens capabilities toward 'stable supply' to the market. Nokyo-kyohan is needed to make up 'core functions' of marketing in a multi-layered supply system and restructure farmers organizations corresponding to members' diversifications.

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The vegetables and fruits sales business by agricultural cooperatives had developed as a suitable sales method for the nationwide wholesale market system, which had developed simultaneously in the rapid economic growth period. The business had advanced through practicing marketing activities fully in the low economic growth period. After entering the globalization age, the business has been reorganized and diversified in response to the changes in vegetables and fruits market structure. The present features of the business are various sales methods for various farmers, expansion in relating business areas, creation of relationships with various concerned parties, and a stratified business system. Although the business is diversified in response to the market conditions each agricultural cooperation is facing, improvement of production capability and response to market needs are fundamentals of sales business by agricultural cooperatives still now.

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JA is an organization that conducts business activities based on the participation and collective efforts of its members, collectively purchasing the materials necessary for agricultural production and collectively marketing agricultural products. The ZEN-NOH Group is responsible for the marketing and supply business of the JA Group and builds structures that make efficient use of various information, technologies and goods related to marketing and supply. The heart of Tochigi's agricultural produce includes rice, vegetables, and livestock, which are sold throughout the prefecture including metropolitan areas. Tochigi boasts national leadership in the production of strawberries, with ZEN-NOH TOCHIGI (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations in Tochigi Prefecture) playing an important role in organizing individual strawberry farmers in Tochigi prefecture and accounting for 86 percent of the marketing of Tochigi's strawberry production. This paper outlines the specific efforts by ZEN-NOH TOCHIGI as: sharing of quality standards, improving produce quality, gathering and transmitting information about production and shipping by individual strawberry farmers, sharing of information and marketing strategies, reducing producer burden and shipping costs, and unifying sales promotion in the prefecture. Through these efforts, ZEN-NOH TOCHIGI offers merits to individual strawberry farmers in stabilization of produce quality and quantity between many farmers, securing a variety of sales partner as a whole, unifying consumer support, reducing shipping costs, improving visibility and sales power as a prefecture, and corresponding to price slumps. The future of such collective marketing will be based on partial optimization of sales strategies, maintaining and expanding the participants of collectively marketing, and developing the human resource of ZEN-NOH TOCHIGI.

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The 'Farm-Supermarket Connection' is a policy in China that operates to promote farmers, farmer's co-operatives, and supermarket's undertaking direct transactions. The policy has seen many meaningful achievements. However, the supermarket sector has grown too large relative to farmers and, as such, the supermarket sector's buying power is damaging the 'Farm-Supermarket Connection' development. Specifically, supermarkets began to collect a 'slotting fee' from farmer's co-operatives, which seriously damaged the existing 'Farm-Supermarket Connection.' In order to solve this problem, the Chinese government has issued several new legislative points.

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