Plowing out a space for dry-field rice farmingーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
the number of rice farmers in Japan is on the decline as the workforce ages and profitability erodess nhk Worlds Sano Yumier spotlights an innovative growing method that’s less demanding in terms of both labor and resources in spring rice patties across Japan are flooded with water but that familiar landscape is changing in some places in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo there’s a rice farm where the crop is being grown on dry fields it’s led by Yamazaki Yoshio who produces about 600 tons of rice a year with five employees last year he started cultivating rice without flooding about 10% of his 110 hectares of rice patties in traditional rice production farmers plow and paddle the patties to prepare them for planting they raise seedlings for transplanting at the same time then water management is a daily task right up to harvest with this method the soil is tilled and sees a sound directly yamazaki says that by making good use of rainfall normally plainful in Japan irrigation isn’t such a burden last year I only added water once a week during the peak of summer when it was extremely hot and dry only five times over the whole season as a result the farm’s rice yield slightly decreased but it was able to reduce its work hours by 70% during the peak farming period from April to July equipment costs were also cut by around 60% one of the challenges of using the method is that nutrient deficiencies often occur leading to unstable growth a liquid fodizer is sprayed on the seas to alleviate this it was developed by a subsidiary of a major beer maker the fodderizer contains beer east cell walls a byproduct of the brewing process the rice plants absorb more nutrients and grow more vigorously because the fertilizer boosts their natural immunity to disease the rice is very beautiful and the grains are large the use of this type of liquid fertizer is still in its early stages and the developer is working closely with farmers to make it more effective 100fold dilution works best for germination 100fold that would be cost effective it’s important that this be simple and easy to use it should not require much effort yamazaki has increased his dry field rice cultivation area to about 30 hectares three times what it was last year by reducing costs and establishing a profitable agricultural model we can attract more people to grow rice we must ensure a smooth generational transition yamazaki is actively sharing his experiences as a dry field rice farmer he hopes this will help inspire a new generation to take to the soil san Y and HK world
As the number of rice farmers continues to decline in Japan, a method of growing the crop without flooding the fields is gaining attention for its labor-saving efficiency. #japan #agriculture #rice #farming #business #science
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