Japanese Agricultural Policies Towards 2000: Swimming with the Tide
Japanese agricultural policy has undergone substantial change in the last year. Since the completion of the Uruguay Round, the rice market has been partially opened, import quotas on agricultural products have been replaced by tariffs and there has been a general shift away from consumer funding of agricultural programs to funding by taxpayers. These changes are making Japanese agricultural policies more transparent and more open to scrutiny. There is now recognition in Japan that the changes are irreversible and that agriculture will be faced with increasing competition from imports.
Dismantling Statist East Asian Agricultures? Global Pressures and National Responses
Recent analyses of the extension of the GATT-WTO trade regime to agriculture and other sectors emphasize the secular decline of nation--state power. New forms of global regulation, it is argued, make it difficult for the state to intervene effectively to counter sectoral displacement threats. Recent agricultural adjustment problems in East Asia, where state intervention has been pronounced, cast doubt on this argument. While the type of state intervention has changed somewhat, both the Japanese and South Korean states remain heavily involved in agricultural restructuring, making neoliberal patterns of reorganization an unlikely result.
An assessment of the Impact of Devolution on Women Empowerment in Nakuru County
-Women have been grossly marginalized in organs of decision-making and governance structures. The Constitution of Kenya has sought to bridge this gap by providing both women and men the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. However, gender equality has not been achieved and women are still lagging in terms of decision making processes. The main objective of the study was to detemine the impact of devolution on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study found that substantive women representation, development of programs and accessibility of services had a positive effect on the women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study also found out that increased accessibility of Services by women influenced women empowerment, this study also concludes that the introduction of development programs had the greatest impact on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study recommends that more programs targeting women should be introduced as these have the greatest impact on women empowerment. The findings may be used to make conclusions and recommendations.