Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, which specializes in agriculture, commenting on why Japan is struggling to keep its farms running as farmers age. (Bloomberg)
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It’s easier to be a salaryman. You can’t be a farmer unless that’s your passion.
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15 Comments
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SenseNotSoCommon
Not much passion on the Yamanote this morning.
Strangerland
Isn't that the point of the comment though - you don't need passion to be a salaryman, which makes it easier.
That's what made it harder for me when I was a company man though - soul destroying apathy. I don't miss it at all.
Ricky Kaminski
Certainly don't need much passion to be a salary , in fact probably more of a hindrance if you do.
sangetsu03
Imagine all the red tape, regulations, and unwritten rules which must be followed by companies.
As a salaryman you have very little responsibility. You work long hours, but you don't do much real work. You get promoted according to seniority and not performance, so you can expect your position and salary to improve even if you do the minimal amount of work, or in some cases, no work at all. All you have to endure is mediocre pay, short vacations, long commutes, and, if you are married, living on a small allowance. And if you find you can't take it, all you have to do is jump in front of the next express train.
5SpeedRacer5
i think farming is something anybody COULD be good at. The quote makes the only important point, which is that you have to want to do it. Few people do. It is messy, stressful, risky, sometimes hazardous work. It takes so much energy and commitment that farmers seldom have time to pay attention to commodities prices and marketing, so, it is a rough go.
I would not be a salaryman even for a million per year. Probably not even five million. I have a hard time figuring out how someone can live life with so many limitations imposed on them by idiots. I guess a lot of people really want that. It amazes me. And. I guess I would probably choose to be a farmer instead, actually. There are limitations, but they aren't imposed by idiots.
Laguna
Speed, I dunno about that. I approach my garden each spring with deep passion, and as such, I've learned the veracity of that saying, "Gardening and second marriages are similar: the triumph of hope over experience."
goldorak
Dunno about Japan but in many countries farmers are being blackmailed/taken advantage of by major supermarket chains and other big corporations always asking for cheaper milk/meat/vegies etc. Dairy farmers in particular are doing it tough right now in both France and Oz and passion isn't enough when you lose money working 60/70hours week.
Japan and other countries have to understand farmers need to feel valued and respected and that selling milk at less than a dollar/litre in supermarkets (cheaper than water!) is probably NOT the solution.
edojin
I come from a family with a strong background in farming in the eastern United States. The children of these farming families -- my nieces, nephews and cousins --- one and all walked away from farming and took normal jobs in towns and cities, away from the farms. Their reasoning: It's easier to be a salaryman ... plus today you make more money as a salaryman. So, what Takeshi Minami said above makes sense.
FizzBit
At least you know it's going into the farmers pocket and not into the JA bureaucracy.
I'd love to have a small to medium weekend farm here but could never physically take the humidity for long hours.
TrevorPeace
Being a salaryman isn't the only reason people aren't taking up farming in Japan. Almost all Japanese farms are small family operations, or were, until the kids moved to the cities for those mindless jobs, which takes the 'family' out of the equation and makes those farms highly inefficient. Add to that the regulatory burdens Japanese farmers face, and the fact that imported foods are subjected to such incredibly high tariffs, and the whole topic becomes a useless expenditure of intellect.
albaleo
@5speed
My only experience of dealing with Nokyo left me feeling there was little difference. There are idiots everywhere.
kurisupisu
I'd rather be a farmer than a salaryman! Much less stress and (in Japan) selling direct to the public or through supermarkets mean that farmers can get better prices for their crops
sangetsu03
Farmers in Japan are state subsidized to a degree that few people realize. Where do you think the money from agricultural tariffs goes. Milk and cheese in Japan is nearly 4 times as high as it is in America, rice is 7 times higher, beef and pork are between 4 and 5 times more expensive.
Farms in Japan are small, irregularly cultivated, and not much more efficient than they were in the Meiji era. If these farms were located in other developed countries, the farmers would have gone bankrupt generations ago. But they are subsidized to the point that they can turn a profit no matter how poorly they run their farms.