NEWS
2024.04.22
【Report】The 66th AJI Frontier Seminar was held! Dr. Ho Than Tam, “Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture: Perspectives of Rice Farmers and Consumption Trends in Japan”
The 66th AJI Frontier Seminar was held online on April 16th. This time, Dr. Ho Than Tam (Ph.D.) A Senior Researcher of Asia-Japan Research Institute gave an informative presentation entitled “Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture: Perspectives of Rice Farmers and Consumption Trends in Japan.”
Dr. Tam explained that Japanese farmers’ overuse of chemical fertilizers has reduced soil fertility and caused harmful pollution. Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has been working to limit fertilizer use and promote organic agriculture. She reported on farmers’ attitudes toward sustainable agricultural products (SAP), the economic and environmental performance of SAPs in Shiga Prefecture, and Japanese consumers’ awareness and attitude toward sustainable rice products. She explained that her data was obtained through field surveys and questionnaires and evaluated by using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Soil samples were collected and analyzed using Soil Fertility Index (SOFIX). She found that SAPs’ productivity is lower while manpower use is higher, and although direct payment subsidies are provided for sustainable rice farming, they are not sufficient to cover the higher costs or offset the low profitability. Consequently, although sales of organic products are increasing in the US, China and the EU, they remain low in Japan due to higher costs and low consumer awareness (14%).
In her research on rice farming methods in Shiga, where excessive fertilizer use has caused the pollution of Lake Biwa, Dr. Tam’s results showed that various campaigns conducted to promote SAPs have been relatively successful. However, she found that there is a gap between farmers’ and consumers’ attitudes to sustainable agriculture. Farmers seek higher selling prices, whereas consumers favor sustainable rice products at affordable prices. She emphasized that campaigns to promote sustainable organic farming in collaboration with local retail outlets are extremely important for promoting environmentally friendly rice and organic rice marketing.
In the Q&A session questions were asked about her data collection and analysis, the particular position rice holds in Japanese culture, and the willingness of other prefectures besides Shiga to introduce SAPs. Dr. Tam answered all these questions clearly, and we wish her success in researching and promoting sustainable rice agriculture in Japan.
Dr. Ho Than Tam delivering her presentation
Please visit the following link for previous AJI Frontier Seminars:
https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/aji/young_researcher/seminar/archive/