Gross farm output was worth 8.7979 trillion yen in 2015, 5.2 percent up over the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). The gross agricultural production exceeded that in the previous year for the first time in three years due to price level rises not only of livestock products, mainly brought about by a shortage of wagyu (Japanese beef cattle) calf supplies, but also of many vegetables and rice in the market. Behind an increase in the total value of farm output, however, quantity of agricultural production was reduced primarily because of a decrease in a number of producers, which warns that the Japanese farming … Continue reading →

ｃｖ The fiscal 2017 budget draft was approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on December 22. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries-related budgets for fiscal 2017 totaled 2.3071 trillion yen, 2.0 billion yen less than those allocated for fiscal 2016. The budget allocation for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was given a top priority to measures for enhancing agriculture’s international competitiveness. MAFF will increase its budget spending in fiscal 2017 on agricultural and rural consolidation projects aiming at farm land improvement particularly by expanding paddy field plots in the country. An amount of appropriation for the farm land improvement projects has increased to 402 billion yen … Continue reading →

A study group organized by Iwate University has launched a project to develop a new system for purifying a bovine leukemia infected zone by quarantining black-haired Wagyu (Japanese beef cattle) with a higher incidence risk at a special stock farm for the purpose of preventing a spread of infection among cattle herds in the zone. The project aims to feed cattle with a higher incidence risk at a quarantine farm, which can be a cause of the spread of infection, instead of selling the cattle in the market. If the cattle grow up without showing symptoms of bovine leukemia during a period of 27 months, they will be shipped to … Continue reading →

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) jointly plan to strengthen sales promotion activities of cooked rice packs for Chinese consumers. The sales promotion will be carried out by distributing the rice packs to Chinese tourists as well as using instant rice packs at cooking classes for Chinese consumers in order to increase public recognition of the commodity among Chinese people. With a view to continuously marketing cooked rice packs in China, cooking demonstrations and tastings are to be implemented at various places such as department stores, super markets and convenience stores in Chinese big cities. MAFF and JETRO wish to make … Continue reading →