Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

A case of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), one of infectious livestock diseases, was detected at a dairy farm in Boeun-gun county, Chungcheonbuk-do province located in a central part of the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of South Korea (MAFRA) announced on February 6. MAFRA confirmed the first discovery of the disease in the country in eleven months. According to MAFRA, the FMD case was confirmed on February 5, after five heads of dairy cattle infected with quasi-foot-and-mouth disease were reported by the farm in Boeun-gun county, which raised 195 cows. The five cows got water blisters on their teats. The inspection revealed that these … Continue reading →

In 2015, 338 persons were killed in farm-work related accidents, 12 fatalities less than the previous year, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) revealed on February 6. The fatal accidents during farm works have fallen to an all-time low since the MAFF’s survey started in 1971. A fatality ratio of farm-work related accidents, however, increased to 16.1 deaths per 100,000 farming population in 2015, hitting the worst record in Japan. The fatality ratio in 2005 was 11.8 deaths, rising by 4.3 points during the ten years. The MAFF’s survey clearly showed that safety measures had not been fully implemented among farmers and their family … Continue reading →

Full-scale sales of “Shinano Gold” yellow apples grown by Italian farmers started in Europe this winter, a plant variety of which was bred by the Nagano Prefectural Government in Japan. It is the first time for a plant variety created in Japan to be grown in a foreign country, products of which are sold with a brand in other countries. In 2007, the Nagano Prefectural Government signed an agreement with two Italian farmers’ cooperatives, South Tyrolean Fruit Growers’ Cooperative and Val Venosta Agricultural Cooperative. This agreement provided the cooperatives with exclusive licenses to plant seeds and saplings of “Shinano Gold” as well as market their fruits in European countries. The … Continue reading →

A new packaging technology useful for keeping strawberries fresh during long-distance ocean transportation was developed by the Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, based at Koshi city in Kumamoto prefecture, operated by NARO or the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization. The new packaging system has been worked out with a combination of a special tray for perishable strawberries and a packaging material used for preserving freshness of vegetables and fruits in longer periods. Shipping by ocean is much cheaper than shipping by air. The development of the new packaging technology for long-distance strawberry shipment by sea is now expected to make a major contribution to a further increase in fresh … Continue reading →