Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

150 SPECIFICITIES OF GLOBALIZATIONcooperatives are established to support sustainableagriculture systems and environmental protection,such as the Seikatsu Club, which was established in1968 and has 26 branches nationwide. The SanchukoClub has two shops in Fukuoka. There is also a groupcalled Hyakusho Yakai (1977) that wants to conservethe environment in cooperation with producers inpromoting organic farming. This consumer cooperativeacts as a link between producers and consumers. Theyhave a home delivery service and also deliver productsto the representative of the consumers’ group. Theyhave also organized educational and welfare activitiesfor mothers and children, as well as the elderly. In thelate 1990s, they also developed a certification body thatis still being used.In Indonesia, the system is different. Productionmanagement is done by the community through thelocal market. Consumers consume local food madefrom products from the farm. For example, the farmersof Boto community make tempeh from soybeanwrapped with teak leaves collected from the farm. Thisprocess allows farmers to make use of all the materialsfound on the farm and, in turn, provides cash forthe family. Some also process Koro beans, which area native bean, or sell fresh Koro at the local market.In addition, farmers try to develop the local marketthrough group mobilization. The members of YayasanDuta Awam process maize into animal feed and sell itto the animal-raising group. Some have also developeda local market for native rice and processed herbs andsell directly to consumers. For the past few years, localNGOs have organized themselves as a network calledAliance Organic Indonesia and established the Biocert,a certification body to certify organic products. Thetarget of the sustainable agriculture movement inIndonesia is to establish a market system that farmerscan easily access and within which they can receive a fairprice for their products.Sustainable agriculture under globalizationMainstream globalization, with its concepts of freetrade and consumerism, has had an impact on thedevelopment of sustainable agriculture. Farmershave to confront the changes in the whole society. InJapan, consumers are aware of chemical-free productsand this made a way for organic farming to exist asan alternative. It is a good example because there hasbeen a great shift from conventional to organic farms.However, the change is based more on fashion ratherthan on a real need; therefore, sometimes the movementcreated confusion among consumers. As a result,organic certification was needed. However, certificationdoes not support organic farmers but rather serves toallow the consumer to distinguish between organic andconventional products while the farmers have to bearthe burden of paying the certification fee. In Indonesia,the system of certification has just started but there is aneed for the movement to learn from other countries.There are a great deal of organic and natural productsin the market. With consumers’ awareness, consumercooperatives and distribution centers may facechanges as they have to deal with the issue of productstandardization, which will replace the consumerproducerlinkage system. They have to adapt and tryto set up a certification system for their consumers.Furthermore, there have been changes in consumerbehavior due to the impact of globalization such as apreference for home delivery, especially in the big citiessuch as Tokyo. The cooperatives may need to improvetheir member systems or they may have to workwith consumers. There is a question of whether thecooperatives need to work with consumers alone or ifthey may have to work and establish relationships withproducers as well, as in the concept of sanchoku 4 or theteikei system. Another question is concerned with theexpansion of the cooperatives from small-scale to largescale,and how can they can conserve their identity inselling local food if, as a large-scale cooperative, theyhave to sell non-local products as well.The changes in government policies, especiallyon domestic support and the role of the JapaneseAgricultural Cooperative Association (JA), may affectmedium-scale cooperatives. At present, there is aneed to use JA to buy products from farmers in largevolumes. Green cooperatives buy from JA in lowervolumes. However, if cooperatives have to change theirsystems, green cooperatives may require more capital tobuy products directly; thus, there is a need to managethe relationship and management system among thesecooperatives.In Indonesia, sustainable agriculture has developedfrom traditional farming; some of the products are soldat both local and regular markets. The regular marketis not a place where farmers can easily go and sell theirproducts. The development of consumer and producerlinkages is still at the early stage. They are now tryingto develop a local market based on local conditions.The complications of globalization and free tradeaffect Indonesian farmers who have to deal with moreissues starting from the basic rights over their naturalresources, genetic resources, and market access, as wellas the issue of farmers’ participation at the policy level.The issue of food sovereignty becomes crucial as calledAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows