Azaraimy HH in Tokyo, Japan
If you were a degree holder and had enough knowledge about farming, would you do it for a living?
There is no doubt in my mind that the younger generation today would pass up on farming as a hobby, let alone make a career of it since it involves hard labour with a no stable income.
However, on a recent trip to the countryside of Japan, where I was to learn about Japanese food products, I discovered that something is changing in a society dominated by high-technology and tertiary industries
I soon found myself probing deeper, asking my translator as to how come so many of the farmers I’d met were both young and highly educated, and very eager to get their hands dirty.
The answer was simple: They had a deep interest in farming and had grown tired of the usual 5 – 7 job in the city, opting instead to upgrade their lives not in terms of income, but rather, job satisfaction.
One such farmer was a young woman I had met at a farmer’s market in Tokyo midtown. Like several others, she had quit her steady job (as an executive) to try her hand at farming mushrooms that grow on tree trunks.
Her crops which are grown on a few hectares of land are partly sold to a food processing company, while the remainder is sold directly.
Today she draws a smaller pay cheque than she did previously, but she says it doesn’t bother her at all.
Another farmer was a fresh university graduate who finds the farm life ‘appealing,’ and believes ‘farming is a noble job’ that impacts society directly.
Now, this is actually dissimilar to the view given by Japanese academician Assoc Professor Dr Toru Maruo during a visit to the Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University in Tokyo.
He said that the Japanese farming industry is experiencing a ‘critical trend’ whereby there is an inadequate number of people to replace aging farmers, given the unappealing nature of the job.
The problem is even more chronic in rural areas:- The young are moving in flocks to the city in search of a different occupation.
Dr Toru Maruo revealed that if 2/3 of the existing farmers, comprising mostly of older folks (60% of whom are above 65), retired and were not replaced, then Japan would suffer a serious reduction in food production.
According to his estimate, food production would be reduced to just 1/3 of the existing production, meaning Japan would have to rely heavily on imports.
Meanwhile, Nishinippon Newspaper Senior Editor Takeshi Kokubu whom I met at Oita Prefecture in Kyushu said only 3% of Japanese people farm and the country is only 41% self-sufficient.
Dr Toru Maruo believes farming is less attractive to the younger generation in Japan. He advocated a need to use high-technology (such as next-generation hydroponic farming in plant factories across Japan) to increase vegetable production in preparation for the future onset of a decrease in agricultural activities in Japan.
At the same time it is to bring into existence healthier and fresher produce using clean and green technology.
Meanwhile, some of the other farmers I met spoke of studying methods of creating good, natural compose to enhance their farms.
They also told of opening their own vegetable corners and receiving telephone orders from households.
It found it a little baffling to learn that generally, produce that were sold directly by farmers were more expensive than the ones sold at the supermarket. Previously, direct-selling of vegetable produce was not common in modern Japan. Usually, vegetables and other agricultural products are sold to the middlemen at the central market and farmers have no control over their prices.
But, I also noted that the Japanese agricultural industry is changing, where direct-selling is now becoming increasingly popular (especially among the younger generation of farmers) and that pricing of the produce relates closely to personal guarantees of freshness.
‘Freshness’ is central in the Japanese diet. Because the Japanese place high importance on the freshness of food products, these young farmers find almost no problem selling their goods directly to household or food factories.
This is partly attributed to their reputation: That a growing number of farmers, especially the young ones, prefer the conventional approach, which includes limiting the use of pesticides in hopes of conserving nature.
Machiko Tateno, who comes from a farming family in Tochigi Prefectures said she was disappointed to see the family produce end-up as rice-crackers, considering all the effort poured into producing the high-quality paddy.
Unfortunately, because farm land is expensive, she was unable to start a farm of her own. However, after graduating and becoming a professional nutritionist, she became a grand chef at Roppongi Noen – a farmers’ restaurant where people in the business and others enjoys each others’ produce and share experiences and stories.
The restaurant’s ala carte menu features local farm produce which she cooks in a style that ensures its ‘freshness’ and ‘originality’ so that customers will appreciate how nutritious they are.
The rising desire for the younger generation to swing back to farming did not come about on its own. The government, alongside farmers’ guilds or cooperative bodies, has been working overtime to create interest in this line, particularly among young people who come from a family of farmers.
Some cooperatives provide platforms for these young farmers to learn tricks of the trade and to share their success stories with others.
At the end of the day, it would be interesting to see if the future of Japanese agriculture will be as some might predict it to be:- high technology greenhouses and control plant factory environment.
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