Human capital development in Japan’s agriculture

Empowering people to innovate is one of the five priorities for government action identified in the OECD Innovation Strategy. People generate ideas and knowledge that power innovation, and they apply this knowledge and the resulting technologies, products and services in the workplace and as consumers. Innovation requires a wide variety of skills, as well as the capacity to learn, adapt or retrain, particularly following the introduction of radically new products and processes. Fostering the skills of farmers to innovate, to solve new problems and to engage with other stakeholders is at the heart of AIS and the improvement of education and training enables AIS to function effectively. Empowering people to innovate relies not only on broad and relevant education, but also on the development of wide-ranging skills that complement formal education. This chapter presents an overview of the development of agricultural education, extension and advisory system in Japan, and of the agricultural policies currently in place.