Outline

The Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (PRIMAFF), was established in April 2001, as the sole national policy research organization engaged in the study and research of the policies related to agriculture, forestry and fi sheries, by the reorganization of the former National Research Institute of Agricultural Economics (NRIAE).
Recent years have seen important changes in the areas of Japanese foods, agriculture and rural areas. In this movement, to ensure the continued development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries and rural areas in the future, the Ministry of Agricultue, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan has been working on planning and promoting relevant policies adapted to the new age, under the Basic Law of Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas.
PRIMAFF attaches importance to the cooperation and cordination with administrative offices of the Ministry more closely than before and responding to new policy directions through its policy research. From this standpoint, it carries out research and studies on the situations and policies of foods, agriculture, forestry, fi sheries, and rural areas inside and outside Japan, by making use of social science approaches including econiomics, law and sociology as well as natural science approaches.