The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held a case study meeting on Tuesday, October 15, to report on specific examples of coordination between health care and agriculture, with the aim of developing the agricultural sector as a potential industry.
It is the first time for the ministry to hold such a meeting in line with the government’s growth strategy of bolstering innovation and increasing value in agriculture through sector-to-sector cooperation. Some 200 people attended the meeting.
“It is very important for the agricultural industry to coordinate medical and health care sectors in order to create added value,” said Agricultural minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. “We will take this opportunity as a chance to seek new developments.”
Hirokazu Koyanagi, general manager of Tsumura and Co.’s herbal medicine department, reported on the efforts to increase domestic production of medicinal herbs. As much as 80 percent of herbal medicine, which is used as ingredients for Kampo (Japanese adaptation of traditional Chinese medicine), is dependent on imports from China, and the company is working on expanding production in Japan to secure stable supply, Koyanagi explained.
In order to promote production of medicinal herbs in Japan, it is necessary to find ambitious producers, improve cultivation technology to fit the regional characteristics and foster supervisors, Koyanagi said.
(Oct. 16, 2013)