KAZO, Japan: A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised…
KAZO, Japan: A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival.
Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market.
Kazuo Ogura, a 66-year-old farmer, is one of the lucky ones. His son Yuichi decided to follow him into the family business.
Ogura senior looks on proudly as his 38-year-old son uses a specially designed machine to plant this year’s harvest, splashing through golden paddy fields that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Surviving in this tough environment is all about « producing quality food at a reasonable price » and harnessing economies provided by large-scale production, Ogura told AFP.
The future of his establishment in Kazo, some 50km north of Tokyo, looks assured as Yuichi follows in his muddy footsteps but farms all over Japan are dying as farmers age – the average age of a rice farmer is now 67.
« I was the only one out of 220 students at my local school who went into farming, » Yuichi said.
« There are not many people in their twenties who go into farming. »
Even existing farms have been forced to close when their machinery breaks down because farmers cannot afford to replace the costly equipment.
« Machines get more expensive every year. To replace them requires a certain level of profit but that’s difficult when you are farming a small plot, » Yuichi said.
