A steadily increasing number of farmers are switching to environment-friendly, organic growing methods that avoid the use of industrial fertilizers and other chemicals. Some organic farmers have formed organizations for joint research into compost production and soil improvement. Organically grown produce is receiving consumer support, with department store and supermarket sales climbing and home-delivery services expanding rapidly.
Farmers Researching Better Organic Agriculture Technology
In the past few years, vegetables and fruits bearing organic produce labels have become conspicuous on supermarket shelves. Both consumers and producers have grown more aware of the need for environmental preservation and safety, and the number of organic farmers is increasing rapidly. Given this spread of organic agriculture, in 1993 the Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries set up guidelines defining "organic produce" as "produce grown without the use of agricultural chemicals or chemical fertilizers in fields where such chemicals have not been used for at least three years and where the soil has been enriched using compost or other natural means."
In many cases, growers have organized groups to study ways to improve the safety of organic produce and prevent plant diseases. A group in Ibaraki Prefecture has achieved results in developing fermented compost, which avoids the danger of crop damage from harmful bacteria that propagate in compost produced by decomposing. A group in Saitama Prefecture is composting garbage by putting it in a tightly covered container and sprinkling it with rice bran mixed with yeast and other microorganisms, which prevents odors and harmful insects.
Home-Delivered Organic Produce Popular
Organic produce is gaining popularity among consumers, and sales are climbing steadily in department stores, supermarkets, and natural food shops. Indicative of this popularity is what happened when a department store started selling completely organically grown apples in the fall of 1995. Thus far such apples have been considered difficult to commercialize, but they sold like mad in spite of being priced at 400 to 500 yen apiece.
Parcel-service deliveries direct from the producer are also spreading rapidly. One group that delivers produce of the season to members' homes each week has grown into a huge organization of 55,000 members. Distribution systems of this sort that directly link producers and consumers are welcomed by growers because they assure a stable market, and they will probably expand in the future.
Organic produce, however, is more expensive than that grown by conventional methods, partly because crop yields are lower than when industrial fertilizers and other chemicals are used, raising unit production costs. At present those who favor organic produce are more concerned about quality, safety, and environmental concerns than about price. But to promote organic farming and expand consumption of the produce it will probably be necessary to improve technologies and lower costs.
(The above article, edited by Japan Echo Inc., is based on domestic Japanese news sources. It is offered for reference purposes and does not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.)