Foreword

Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in Japan is a part of the OECD Food and Agricultural Reviews series. It examines the conditions in which farms and businesses in Japan undertake innovation in the food and agriculture sector to become more productive and environmentally sustainable. The review starts with an overview of the food and agriculture sector and outlines development challenges and opportunities (Chapter 2). It then considers a broad spectrum of policies according to the main channels or incentive areas through which they affect productivity growth and the sustainable use of resources (Chapter 3); the agricultural policy environment (Chapter 4); the agricultural innovation system (Chapter 5); and human capital development in agriculture (Chapter 6). Chapter 1 summarises the findings of this review and provides policy recommendations.

Policies in Japan are analysed following the analytical framework developed by the OECD, in the context of work with the G20, to evaluate the extent to which existing policies facilitate productivity growth and sustainability in food and agriculture. To date, this framework has been applied to Australia, Brazil, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Estonia, Korea, Latvia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.