投稿の詳細: ちょっと？な話？　 I wonder why

今年農協の推奨するある野菜を作った。
JA須高では始めての野菜で、30戸ほどが
挑戦したが、うまくいかなかった農家も多い。
私も、出荷できるほどのものがほとんどなく
来年乞うご期待となったのだが。

その野菜について出荷先からクレームがついたということで
朝早く召集がかかって行ってみた。水はけの悪い
畑で作ったものに特徴的な不良がでたのだという。
切らなければ見えない部分で、外観からは判断が
つかないという。

それはともかく、その説明の中で、農協が集荷した
あとそれを地元のC仲買（市場ですね）を通じて
販売しているというのだ。Cから更にほかの市場に
出荷されているはずだから、聞いているほうは？？？
だよね。何で農協が直接市場に卸さないで、本来
競争相手である地元市場に販売を委託してしまうのか。

ベテランの農家に拠れば、農協は系統出荷で大口
取引先に出荷先を絞ってきたので、小口のアイテムには
対応できないのだという。今度農協に聞いてみようと
思うが、最終消費者との間に中間流通業者が何社も
入れば、結局農家の取り分が少なくなるではないか。
小口にいちいち人件費を掛けていられないという理由
なのかな～？　でも、ちょっと違うような気がするんだな、
これが。　農協には、農家をまず豊かにしてという思想が
欲しいよね、と思うのだが。

I tried to grow a vegetable introduced
by local JA this year. It was introduced
to local JA Sukoh for the first time and
around 30 farmers tried some. But not so many
farmers were successful including myself.
The growers were requested to treat it
as a brand new vegetable because the
growing method is completely different
from the conventional one.

The growers were asked to participate in
a meeting the other day early in the morning
because JA had received claims from a retail
supermarket. The vege had kind of stain when
cut at backyard. The stain was not detectable
from the appearance but was visible only when
cut. The stain was said to happen on the vege
grown in less permeable land.

Set aside the clain issue, what surprised me most
was the fact that JA had sent the collected veges
from the farmers to the local market company.
It means JA does not sell the vegetable by itself
but relies on a competitor company.

A veteran farmer told me that JA would not sell
small lot produces because it had concentrated to
handle a big lot ones like apples and grapes. And
that narrowed the sales routes for years.
It is obvious that the famers' margin is reduced
if the distribution system gets complicated.
JA should have its own reason why it does not
find own sales routes. Maybe it costs more than
just letting local market company to handle it.
But is it so? I don't feel it is reasonable for
JA to do that. I expect JA to hold its concept to
bring profit to the growers first. In order to
do so, JA should have its own sales routes besides
their existing big lot routes.