Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

【News】 Exports of vacuum packed rice to be promoted under Japanese Government initiative to improve infrastructure for exports of primary products (Dec. 6, 2016)

The Japanese Government has initiated “an infrastructure development program for exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products,” which clarifies a policy direction of infrastructural improvement to be required for boosting exports of those commodities. The governmental program includes new measures to promote improvement of auto vacuum sealer machines since an export of vacuum packed rice (cooked) is expected to be promising in overseas markets. A part of the governmental program for accelerating improvement of the export infrastructure is the development of rice vacuum packing machines, aiming to achieve a national target of raising the value of agricultural, forestry and fishery product exports up to one trillion yen in 2019, while … Continue reading

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【News】 Say “Good morning” to your cows to get more milk: study by farm helper reveals favorable impact of positive human-cow interaction (Oct. 27, 2016)

Just saying “Good morning” to your milking cows can increase their milk production. In a study coducted by a 24-year-old farm helper at a dairy farm in Nakashibetsu town, Hokkaido, cows produced more milk after receiving friendly cares, stroking and approaching, and less after receiving slaps or being shouted at. The stock handler, Haruka Koshio, also confirmed that first-calf heifers are more susceptible to such emotional experiences. Koshio presented her report at the 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) held in the U.K. in the summer of 2016 and the drive to encourage gentle cow handling is growing in Japan. “Positive interaction” is key to higher … Continue reading

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【News】 Japanese farmers’ products likely to be primarily selected as food ingredients at athlete’s village for Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Dec. 4, 2016)

Standards for procurements of food ingredients to be used at Athlete’s Village and other facilities for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were revealed to the Japan Agricultural News on December 3. The standards have been drafted by the Sustainable Procurement Working Group of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to the drafted standards, domestically produced agricultural and livestock products are to be given priority in procurements of food ingredients at the Olympic Athlete’s Village and other related facilities. Those products will need to meet certification standards required by the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP). The Procurement Working Group also plans to advise the Athlete’s … Continue reading

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【News】1,000 farmers on tractors gather in Seoul to call for President Park’s resignation (Nov. 26, 2016)

[Anseong, South Korea/ By Zhezhu Jin, The Japan Agricultural News Staff Writer] More than a thousand farming tractors gathered in Anseong city, Gyeonggi-do, in the suburb of Seoul on Nov. 25, as farmers from Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeollanam-do, the two southernmost provinces of South Korea, traveled north, heading towards the Blue House where the presidential office and residence are located. On their way to Seoul, they protested against President Park Geun-hye and her administration’s failure in farm policy, claiming that their business conditions are getting severer than ever because of plunging rice prices and market liberalization under free trade agreements signed with other countries. The farmers left Jeollanam-do on Nov. 15 … Continue reading

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【News】 Rice output target fixed at 7.35 million tons for 2017, 80 thousand tons less than this year (Nov. 29, 2016)

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) set a rice output target, on November 28, for the year 2017 at 7.35 million tons (brown rice), 80 thousand tons less than that for 2016. The production target was fixed on the basis of a current trend showing an annual decrease in consumption of some 80 thousand tons. MAFF also announced a voluntary supply reduction target of 7.33 million tons, which is to be achieved by some farmers voluntarily increasing their set-aside areas of paddy fields more than expected. The 2017 target of rice production is the last one that will be fixed by the Government. MAFF will cease to make … Continue reading

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