Abstract
After World War II, Japanese women in agriculture expanded their skills in food processing and direct marketing with the help of agents of the Cooperative Extension Service. This expansion of skills became the driving force behind female entrepreneurship in rural areas, which has become increasingly active year after year, with its activities demonstrating that agriculture is an industry that includes not only agricultural production but also food processing and marketing. Some more independent women in agriculture started their own businesses without participating in such cooperative activities. These more independent women in agriculture typically faced common challenges, such as weak sales, and their entrepreneurship was a response to these difficulties. We have also seen an increasing number of agricultural corporations employing female human resources in a variety of activities, including more socially responsible business practices such as environmental conservation and promoting the welfare of various groups in society.
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Notes
- 1.
Yamato Rinrin Agrinet consists of about 30 female members (as of December, 2016), who are business managers, spouses of organizational representatives, and/or executives of agricultural corporations that belong to the Japan Agricultural Corporation Association.
- 2.
Sawano’s study details how women start businesses in rural areas and develop them into social enterprises.
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Aoyama, H. (2019). Women’s Advancement of Agriculture and Rural Society: Considerations on the Innovations by Women in Agriculture. In: Kiminami, A. (eds) Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Japanese Agriculture. New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives, vol 32. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8055-6_8
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