Soba (Japanese for buckwheat) is recently attracting attention as a key product to promote use of farmlands and increase the nation’s food self-sufficiency rate, and at the same time offer opportunities for farmers to expand their businesses to processing and marketing.
Many soba producing regions managed to increase production by introducing varieties which are harvested in summer instead of in autumn or those with higher content of certain nutrients. Soba is definitely a product with huge potential, if producers can stabilize yield by taking measures to cope with its vulnerability to wet damage.
Production of soba expanded largely after the introduction of individual-household income compensation system in fiscal 2011, with its acreage in 2011 rising 8,700 hectares from the previous year to 56,400 hectares. Acreage in 2013 also showed a slight increase to total 61,400 hectares.
However, the situation changed in fiscal 2014, as soba was left out from the list of crops designated for full utilization of rice paddies subject to the compensation system, and direct payments for soba growers were largely squeezed. The average amount of payments per yield was reduced by around JPY2,000 per 45 kilograms, and the amount of payments per acreage dropped by JPY7,000 to JPY13,000 per 10 ares. In order to maintain and increase income, it is necessary for growers to expand yields and make new challenges to market higher value-added soba products.
Soba is extremely vulnerable to wet damage. The nation’s average yield per 10 ares for 2013, the year hit by bad weather such as typhoons, was 54 kilograms, down 19 kilograms from the previous year. In the Tohoku region, the major soba producing area where the rate of rice paddies shifted to soba crops is high, the average yield was as low as 37 kilograms.
Thorough drainage measures are indispensable to maintain high yields. In rice paddies, the effective way to strengthen drainage is to combine subsoil breaking, which complements the function of underground drains, with mole drains and open ditches. As for paddies which are changed to soba crops for good and will not be used for rice planting again, the whole surface can be tilted to facilitate drainage. Also recommended is the method of conducting tilling, furrowing and seed planting all at the same time using a chisel plow so that seeds are dispensed into ridges to reduce risks of wet damage.
High yields can be achieved even in a lean year. A farmer who won the agriculture minister prize in the national award for outstanding soba production in fiscal 2013 obtained an average yield of 125 kilograms per 10 ares in a 23-hectare land. The farmer is engaged mainly in crop farming, and he has changed his rice paddies into rotational upland fields to grow wheat, soba and soybeans in a two-year cycle. He achieved better drainage by plowing to a depth of 30 centimeters, and improved his combine harvester to reduce grain drops during harvesting as much as possible. It is a good example of minimizing weather-related damages through creative ideas.
Some regions managed to increase production by introducing new varieties with unique characteristics. In Kyushu, production of Haru-no-Ibuki, a soba variety planted in spring and harvested in early summer, is spreading and drawing attention by enabling people to enjoy soba noodles as a seasonal food in summer instead of in autumn.
Dattan soba (Tartary buckwheat), known for high content of rutin which is said to have the effect of regulating high blood pressure, has a disadvantage of having a bitter taste. However, thanks to the development of a new less-bitter variety Manten Hikari, Hokkaido – a major production area of Dattan soba – expects its acreage to expand to 350 hectares this year. A national organization of Dattan soba growers was established in March, with growers in Hokkaido as main members, to work not only on promoting production but also on creating and marketing value-added products such as soba tea and sweets using soba flour.
Other new varieties include Niji Yutaka, a large-seeded variety resistant to lodging, and Nagano S8 and Kitanomashu, varieties with fresh green-colored groats. They can play a significant role in developing unique production areas.
(June 28, 2014)