The amount of unused farmland owned by non-farmers is soaring, indicating the strong need to reform the nation’s agricultural sector burdened with problems such as the aging of farmers, said an annual report released by the government on Tuesday, June 11. The annual report on food, agriculture and rural areas in the nation for fiscal 2012, adopted by the Cabinet the same day, listed production and business conditions of farmers by different types such as rice farming and dairy farming to come up with measures targeted at specific types of farming. The report reflects Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s growth strategy which identifies the agricultural sector as one of the key areas with potential growth and which require structural reform.
According to the report, the amount of unused farmland was 396,000 hectares as of 2010, up 10,000 hectares from 2005. Nearly half, or 182,000 hectares, of such land were owned by non-farmers. As of 1980, the amount of unused farmland was 123,000 hectares, out of which 25% or 31,000 hectares were owned by non-farmers.
As much as 60% of the people engaged mainly in farming were aged 65 or over, while only 10% were aged below 50, indicating a serious distortion in the age structure, the report said.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to take various measures to cope with the situation, including programs to support new farmers and projects to encourage local districts and villages to decide among themselves who will provide farmlands and who will cultivate them.
When categorized by different types of farming, the report said that as of 2010, as much as 74% of rice farmers were aged 65 or older with the average age 70, while the ratio was 26% for dairy farmers with the average age 55 and 31% for pig farmers with the average age 57. The data indicate that the more income they have, the easier it is for them to find successors.
The main industries in rural areas are agriculture, construction and manufacturing, but the report noted that the number of people engaged in construction and manufacturing has largely declined especially in mountainous regions, hitting hard on part-time farmers in terms of income.
The report also pointed out that although the Engel coefficient, or proportion of family income that is spent on food, remains around 23% since 1995, decline in income is apparently leading to changes in spending patterns on food. In terms of items, spending on meat and vegetables are showing decline while more money is spent on processed food, cooking oil and flavorings. More people will eat out or buy prepared food with the increase of unmarried people, elderly people and working women, the report said.
In regard to the regions hit by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the report said that the government is working on renovating and removing salt from farmlands in the region so that the land damaged by tsunami will become fit for farming within three years.
As for measures related to the accident at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, the report stressed that the ratio of food items with radioactive cesium levels exceeding the safety standard limit has largely decreased, as the government is striving to ensure safety of agricultural and dairy products through taking measures to reduce radiation pollution and conducting inspections on radioactivity levels.
Concerning the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, the report referred to the announcement by Abe of his intention to join the negotiations, and his determination to protect the nation’s agricultural sector and ensure food safety.
(June 12, 2013)