Experts have second thoughts on Japan's falling food supply capacity

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knackerz at 09:18 AM JST - 17th April

There's so much farmland not being used up here in Hokkaido, old farmers aren't able to acheive full productivity yet the soil is so rich. It seems like such a waste when you look at where all the fruit and veg in the supermarkets comes from.
sf2k at 09:48 AM JST - 17th April

as tuna and other fish are in terminal decline, farming will become more important. However the imports of oil and such required to keep farms running will be the next hurdle towards increased caloric efficiencies.
Scrote at 10:08 AM JST - 17th April

I wonder what the self-sufficiency rate would be if they assumed a requirement of 2000 calories per person per day?

Also, given that the population should fall a few percent by 2017, the self-sufficiency rate should increase by then even if the government do nothing.
solarbuster at 11:01 AM JST - 17th April

Small farmers can not sell their produce as the big middle men control the market and it is only going to get worse for small farmers as giant hydrophonic greenhouses come on line. Six fully automated complexes may be enough to supply all of Japan's needs

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1025689/Welcome-Thanet-Earth-The-biggest-greenhouse-Britain-unveiled.html
30061015 at 11:47 AM JST - 17th April

Experts...Some experts... But experts

I am so tired of stories quoting "experts".

In the case of vegetables... they cannot contribute much to the food barometer as their calories are extremely low.

Extremely low? What about potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn and cabochon? Don't cows get fat eating corn? Why do we make biofouls from veggies if there are not enough calories? Its not just the calories, but the type of calories consumed that makes for good health.

The agriculture industry’s potential has been underestimated

With the average age of J-farmers approaching 70, there is a lot to underestimate.

Japan’s farm products cannot compete in terms of price

When cheap Chinese foods are allowed to flood the market, it has everything to do with cost of production, the Yen and the Yuan. Given this, of course Japanese farmers cant "compete". The question that really need answering; Should the production of nutrient poor food of questionable quality be grown by the lowest bidder (plus the shipping costs) thousands of miles away, or should food be eaten from fresh local growers while it is still loaded with enzymes, antioxidants and phytochemicals? Our fossil fuel burning urban Petri dish lifestyle does not promote wise consumption of healthy foods or good eating habits. It is simply driven by consumption for the sake of consuming. Of necessity, we must become more involved in the local economy if we are to survive.
30061015 at 11:49 AM JST - 17th April

Correction: What about potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn and kabocha?
Wakarimasen at 12:33 PM JST - 17th April

They should allow us young and dynamic immigrant foreigners to become farmers. i would even vote LDP.
sydenham at 12:41 PM JST - 17th April

I checked my supermarket yesterday. every vegetable I looked at was fromJapan, or at least it was written that it was Japanese.
BigInJapan at 04:56 PM JST - 17th April

Farmers are heavily underpayed due to the lot of middle man, and small, inefficient field they have. As far as I heard from friends, it suck to be a farmer in Japan. For vegetable, the price one pay in the supermarket is about 10times higher than the farmer got for the same vegetables.

In the case of vegetables, a large majority of them are grown domestically. I checked my supermarket yesterday. every vegetable I looked at was fromJapan, or at least it was written that it was Japanese.

We must live in different regions. Here, quit a big chunk of vegetables are from China, if you go to a supermarket. Also, who knows what is in the produce food? Gyoza, sandwiches, bentos. When the Chinese gyoza scandal burst, i can remember the tv programs where many bento makers and cheap restaurants admitted, that off course, much of the ingredients they use are from China. Since I never seen Chinese beef on the shelves, I guess they mean import vegetables.
sharky1 at 05:13 PM JST - 17th April

With the declining population, one could expect that the demand for home grown farm products will also decline. Nothing to worry about here.
WilliB at 07:42 PM JST - 17th April

If Japan wants to be self-sufficient in food, the most basic condition would be a smaller population. It is quite hypocritical for politicians to want one without the other.
Yelnats at 07:47 PM JST - 17th April

Veggies and fruits here are the best in the world. And the ones that are imported are selected with care. Anthe way they grow them...hmmm how do they get them all look alike like strawberries? Plastic?
cleo at 08:03 PM JST - 17th April

how do they get them all look alike like strawberries?

They pick out all the even-sized, evenly-coloured berries and line them up nicely in those little plastic punnets. Then they sent what's left over to the JA, cleo buys them at half the price and enjoys eating big 'uns and little 'uns.
m0l0 at 03:37 AM JST - 18th April

No mention of the cheap foreign migrant labour used on Japanese farms... another sign that someone other than farmers is making the profit.
apecNetworks at 01:29 PM JST - 18th April

Not only the industry, but also the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry is seeing that one area with great growth potential is the market outside Japan.

The government has set a target of more than tripling farm and fisheries exports to 1 trillion yen in 2013 from the 2004 level.

Backed by the popularity of Japanese cuisine and the fast-rising spending power of other Asian countries, exports amounted to 433.7 billion yen in 2007, up from 295.4 billion yen in 2004.

‘‘Japan’s farm products cannot compete in terms of price. But if combined with their high quality and added value, we believe they have greater overseas sales potential,’’ said Junichi Takeuchi, director of the ministry’s export promotion office.

One aspect of food self sufficiency is the ability for Japan to be "competitive" in global markets. Way too defensive in trade negotiations. If the export figures are close, Japan can more easily make trade deals w/out blocking off many agricultural items. Japanese agricultural sector needs to be examined by the brightest, most innovative, most creative individuals who wish to go into this. Example would be more use of rice flour for new products.