Climate change and associated disasters hinder the procurement of fruit tree pollen. To date, domestically produced pollen has not been sold in Japan, which necessitates determining the price of pollen and establishing a distribution system. To contribute to the stable distribution of domestically produced fruit tree pollen, this study explored the actual status of pollen distribution, examined price-determining factors, and proposed a market distribution model. The results indicated that the price of imported pollen determines the price of domestically produced pollen. Additionally, pollen condition, germination rate, year of collection, and place of production could be price-determining factors. The findings suggest that in Japan, it is optimal to establish a distribution system based on the production area.

The number of young female farmers is declining, and women’s entry rate in agriculture remains low in Japan. Addressing these challenges, bottom-up, women-led Social Innovation (SI) organizations are increasingly emerging and playing a crucial role in networking and empowering women in the rural landscape in Japan. This study employs an SI ecosystem framework to analyze the transformative potential and systemic challenges faced by the Shiga 100 Agri-Girls Project (S100AP), a grassroots organization of female farmers in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Through empirical case study research, including interviews, participant observations and document analysis, the study examines how the S100AP expands its reach, advocates for institutional changes, and conveys the SI principle to deepen its impact within the local agricultural landscape. Findings reveal that while the S100AP achieves notable success in economic and socio-political realms, it contends with gender norms, neoliberal administrative constraints, and dependency on a few committed members. The study underscores the pivotal role of resource owners such as governmental bodies and media in shaping SI initiatives’ outcomes, while also destabilizing official narratives of success by highlighting underlying gender disparities and systemic challenges. It calls for enhanced policy support advocacy to empower grassroots initiatives in promoting gender equality and sustainable rural development.

This report provides an overview of the organic farming technologies that have been developed by National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and current research projects in organic farming and discusses future challenges for expanding organic farming. NARO has developed technologies for labor-saving weeding in organic rice farming and disease and insect control in organic vegetable farming. Currently, NARO is conducting cross-organizational research projects related to organic agriculture, including systematization of organic rice cultivation techniques and establishment of organic strawberry cultivation. Future challenges for the expansion of organic agriculture include the need for meticulous technological development with clear technological targets. It is also necessary to develop technologies that help organic farming supporters and distributors solve problems. Furthermore, it is considered important to conduct multifaceted evaluations of the effects of the introduction of organic farming technologies, as well as participatory research projects involving not only organic farmers but also distributors and other related parties.

The unifying theme of the 73rd and 74th conference symposiums was “Strategy MIDORI”; The Capabilities and Competence of Organic Agriculture in Japan. In particular, the 73rd conference symposium set the theme of The Challenges in Diffusion of Organic Agricultural Production Technologies in Japan with “Strategy MIDORI”: Focusing on the Experiences in European Countries with “Farm to Fork”. Here, in the form of lectures, the possibility of expanding organic agriculture production technology in Japan was discussed from an international perspective. Furthermore, the contemporary issues in agricultural and forestry research, related to the “Strategy MIDORI”, were positioned as a common understanding.

This study aims to clarify the financial characteristics of the major industries participating in agriculture in comparison with the “Agriculture and forestry” industry. We focus mainly on “Manufacture of food,” “Construction,” “Education, learning support,” and “Medical, health care and welfare” as major industries participating in agriculture. We found differences in the financial characteristics of the industries participating in agriculture. Specifically, “Manufacture of food” is in a better financial condition than “Agriculture and forestry,” suggesting that the entry into agriculture is increasing for the purpose of a stable supply of raw materials and other special raw materials. Meanwhile, “Construction” has been recovering since 2014, and its main business is in a better financial condition than “Agriculture and forestry.” Thus, its entry into agriculture might have slowed.

Global sustainability challenges, such as climate change, are creating more consensus around the necessity to transition to sustainable farming methods and localized systems of production and consumption. In the European Union, conversion to organic farming is now seen as crucial to achieve sustainability goals. Italy, in particular, is one of the leading countries in terms of the number of organic farms and farmland, and has recently enacted legislation recognizing ‘organic districts’ as forms of territorial organization focused on organic production. This article provides an overview of recent organic farming developments in Italy, highlighting the implications for Japan. Despite socio-cultural differences, Italy and Japan both have a high percentage of small-scale farms in mountainous and hilly areas. The two countries also face similar challenges, such as the low profitability of conventional small-scale farming, aging farming populations, and farmland abandonment. Unlike Japan, however, Italy has been more successful in adopting organic farming, also thanks to the positioning of organic agriculture as a tool for rural revitalization and the survival of small farms. The conclusions underscore lessons that Japan could draw from Italy’s experience in promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development, especially following the introduction of Japan’s Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems (MIDORI).

A farmers’ group may have a collective character which formed in a specific geographic and historic background and its members’ relationships. And a collective character may affect the way of group operation and the expected behavior for its members. In this study, I conducted a comparative study of two farmers’ groups which produce leafy vegetables. The first case is a group of an agricultural cooperative, and the second case is a contract farming group with a consumers’ cooperative. To analyze how they formed their collective character, I applied the organizational culture theory. The results showed that the first case has strong territorial connections, therefore the members’ voluntary contributions are restrained. But it has allowed the coexistence of its various members. In contrast, the members of the second case are expected to participate in the group operation and provide mutual support. Therefore, some members have quit who felt burdened by making contributions to group operation or mutual support. In conclusion, this study clarified that the collective character of a farmers’ group can actually restrict farmers from developing their business as its members.