Rethinking Agricultural “Continuity” and “Sustainability”

If we turn our attention to what is happening on some regions, we see that ambitious initiatives are taking place in each area, and that there are examples of the growth and development of individual agricultural management and of the revitalization of farming communities. For example, farmers’ markets are popular, and there are cases where profits have risen rapidly. During the era of rapid economic growth in the 1960s, the big cities were overflowing with goods that could not be found in farming villages, and the residents of the latter dreamed of the metropolis. However, recently, anything available in the city can also easily be obtained in the country via mail order. Rather, people living in the big cities have come to discover the value of items that they can only obtain in the countryside, such as ripe, fresh vegetables. Farmers, who used only to deliver their produce to the agricultural cooperative, have also begun using other means such as processing their produce or selling it directly to consumers. Also, laws and initiatives to promote collaboration between agriculture, commerce, and industry, or the development of “AFFrinnovation” (the sixth industry; It is business which agriculture, forestry and fisheries workers take processing and direct sales of their products.), have been put in place to back up these moves.

Moreover, although relative evaluations comparing agriculture with other industries may exist, there is an argument that agriculture is a growth industry. Setting aside the issue of whether or not it is a growth industry, there have been many recent examples of companies from other sectors entering the agricultural sector. Retailers or the restaurant industry grow vegetables for their own stores. Rail companies enter the agricultural industry, or support regional agriculture directly, with the aims of regional revitalization, the securing of employment opportunities, or the growth or maintenance of customer numbers. Companies with unused resources of land or personnel set up farms or start plant factories. The reasons are varied, but it can be said that agriculture is being reassessed.

I believe that this is a different face of Japanese agriculture from the one that is said to be confronting a tough situation, without hope for a future. In my opinion, plans based on a long-term perspective and the accumulation of effort and ingenuity are important for a strong Japanese agricultural sector and farming villages.

In 1980, the Japanese archipelago was swept by cold weather that damaged rice crops, resulting in a poor harvest centered on the Tohoku region. However, within the same area, there were rice paddies which produced almost the same harvest as in a normal year, right beside those which did not produce even a single grain of rice. One factor which was adduced for this was a difference in “soil fertility.” Some rice paddies which depended on chemical fertilizers and were short of organic materials produced zero harvest, and this was expressed as the degrading of “soil fertility.” The difference in yields caused by cold weather damage was also related to the variety of rice planted and to water management, but it taught us the importance of applying a sufficient quantity of organic materials, in particular fully ripened compost. Compost is piled up, fermented straw, fallen leaves, and so on. Animal droppings (manure) and food residue are also sometimes used. It is essential for growing vegetables, but its handling and application require effort. The progression of labor saving in rice farming also led to a tendency for compost to be lacking. When the weather conditions were good, this was not so noticeable, but it was exposed by the unseasonably cold weather.

Applying compost this year does not mean that next year’s harvest will increase. Even after expending considerable effort, the results are not immediate. It is through accumulated labor, the continued application of compost, that the power of the land, or “soil fertility,” increases little by little. On the other hand, I believe that it is for this very reason that “soil fertility” manifests itself gradually and can mitigate the influence of changes in weather conditions. When I carried out a survey, I found that farmers assess the rise and fall of “soil fertility” not only from yield relative to area, but also by past labor input and the cumulative application of compost over time. In this sense, I believe that what is important to agriculture is the accumulation of effort and sustainability, not simply the pursuit of immediate profit.