Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Jan. 9 – As Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) focuses on pushing exports of farm produce and food products, its executive vice president Mitsuhito Sendai said it is important to help raise farmers’ income through boosting exports. In an interview with The Japan Agricultural News, Sendai stressed that JETRO will take measures to support efforts to further promote exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, based on successful cases. He said he believes it is possible for Japan to meet the government’s target of exporting agricultural and food products totaling 5 trillion yen in 2030, adding that the nation may be able to export 10 trillion yen, considering the increase in … Continue reading →

TOCHIGI, Jan. 9 – Overseas shipments of Nikkori pears produced in Tochigi Prefecture grew fivefold from a year before in 2021, hitting a record high of 57.7 tons, as local agricultural cooperatives made various efforts to promote the brand. Seven farm coops in the prefecture cooperate to secure the pears for exports as their humongous size appeals to foreign markets, while Zen-Noh Tochigi, responsible for sales and marketing, took on the tasks of negotiating with buyers, coordinating shipment volumes, obtaining export certificates and inspecting products, in order to ease the burden on the cooperatives. Nikkori is a large, late-maturing pear variety with good flavor, weighing 800 grams to a kilogram … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 7 – Nationwide damage to agricultural products by wild birds and animals in Japan was 16.19 billion yen in the fiscal year 2021, up 2% from the year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF). The increase is attributable mainly to the rise in crop damage by deer in Hokkaido, while the damage by wild boars also rose in some areas. MAFF called on prefecture and municipal governments to reinforce measures by implementing an intensive nationwide campaign to catch wild birds and animals that can cause agricultural damage in the fiscal year 2021. The wildlife damage in Japan once declined for six … Continue reading →

KUMAMOTO, Dec. 1 – The tomato leaf miner, a serious pest of tomatoes and other Solanaceous plants, was detected in Japan for the first time in Kumamoto Prefecture in November. The insect, a species of leaf eating moth, is referred to as “tomato Ebola” in some countries because of the severe damage it causes to crops, threatening tomato production worldwide. Farmers must take pest control measures to detect it quickly and prevent an outbreak in Japan. The pest, which originates from South America, has been detected in at least 80 countries. After it invaded Spain in 2006, it spread quickly to Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and China. It has … Continue reading →