The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it plans to revise the individual-household income compensation system for farmers and increase payments to those who grow rice for livestock feed from the current JPY 80,000 per 10 ares.
Currently, growers of rice for livestock feed nationwide receive the same amount of subsidies regardless of yields, but the ministry said it will provide more payments to those who harvest more than the yearly average yields of rice for human consumption in each region, with the aim of encouraging farmers to grow more rice for animal feed and make efforts to raise productivity.
The ministry estimates that the nation has potential demand of roughly 4.5 million tons of rice for livestock feed. Because climatic and geographical conditions differ according to region, the ministry is considering a system of deciding the amount of payments based on the average yearly yields of rice in each region.
Yields of rice for livestock feed have been uneven, and the ministry hopes to improve farmers’ awareness about cultivation management by introducing a system in which the amount of subsidies are reduced if yields are below the yearly yields of rice in the region. The ministry plans to set the maximum and minimum amount for the subsidies.
The ministry will also support farmers who grow high-yield variety of rice for livestock feed. If municipal governments adopt the measure in their paddy field utilization plan, the ministry will provide additional grants for farmers in the region.
(Nov. 15, 2013)