Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) projections show that over the next 10 years, nearly 30% of Japan’s farmland could be left without cultivators.
The situation is not as dire in prefectures such as Hokkaido, Kyoto, and Shiga, which will see 10% of farmland farmerless.
The numbers are higher in Niigata and Nagasaki prefectures at approximately 20%.
However, there are some regions that are facing 70% to 80% of abandoned farmland in the next decade.
The MAFF released prefecture-level data on its farmlands for the first time to highlight the regional disparities, said Shinjirō Koizumi, Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, during a press conference held on September 9.
He said this decision was made to highlight the severity of the looming farming crisis, noting that block-level averages can fail to capture the sense of urgency the country faces.
“In some regions the numbers may be hard to face. But one reason we wanted to release them now is to ensure that rural areas and producers nationwide understand the scale of the challenge tied to increasing production in line with demand,” said Koizumi.
He hoped that these figured would help communities confront the challenges ahead and plan for the future.
He highlighted that 60,000 rice farmers alone leave farming ever year.
“Over the next five years, the number of farmers will shrink from 550,000 to 250,000 by 2030. And ten years from now, in some regions, 70% or 80% of farmland will have no designated successor. Unless we share this situation as a starting point, people will not fully understand why these policies are necessary, or why, if policy measures are made stronger than before, such intensity is justified.”
Reforms on course
On September 8, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation, leaving a leadership vacuum.
Despite this shake up, Koizumi assured members of the press that the government would not walk back on its plans for agricultural reforms.
“…under the Ishiba administration we began charting a new direction for agricultural policy. As I mentioned yesterday, this has been recognised within the Liberal Democratic Party, as seen in the approval of the budget requests, and regarding the major direction of increasing production, it seems both ruling and opposition parties share this orientation. I believe this is a course that will not be reversed.”
Koizumi added that the ministry has submitted a request to quadruple the budget to strengthen the national agricultural position.
“We are requesting a fourfold increase in the budget for strengthening the functions of farmland banks, which promote the consolidation of farmland. We will also be requesting the budget necessary for the expansion of farmland, the creation of larger plots, and the development of waterways as part of our intensive measures to transform the agricultural structure.
“This regional plan faces a harsh reality, and that is precisely why we are strengthening the budget so much. We will do this even if it means setting aside a separate budget. I would like to continue to explain these things in detail so that you can understand our stance and our desire to work together to create a brighter rural region.”
