Japanese Farming Techniques

Japanese farming techniques have been proven all across the world. The most significant being the wet rice cultivation in the country which takes place amidst erratic monsoon and hot and humid climate.

The basic guide to Japanese farming reveals that natural farming is becoming more popular in the country because it is free of harmful chemicals.

Japan has been at the forefront of farming. Producing food which is not only healthy to eat but also environmentally safe has been at the forefront of Japanese farming. Infact, it needs to be stated that the farming technology being used in Japan is one of the most advanced in the whole world. While two third of Japan’s territories is mountainous, it is only 25% plain land found here. Also the monsoon is known to fluctuate in the country quite often. Thus, there is a huge disparity to be seen in the water levels.

Wet Rice Cultivation in Japan

In order to make the best use of the rivers the Japanese people focused on wet rice cultivation. This has been taken up on a much wider scale in the country leading to a very high yield. Due to flood irrigation it has also become possible to go for multiple harvests at the paddy fields. However in order to get the most from this kind of cultivation it is very much important that the water level should always be consistent. To ensure this, rice paddy irrigation is practiced. Also it is a highly labor intensive occupation.

Practising Natural Farming in Japan

In Japan ‘natural farming’ is the new buzzword and more and more people are moving ahead to practice this kind of farming. The positive and perhaps the best aspect of this kind of farming is that you will not have to use pesticides, fertilizers and in fact no tilling is also required. This implies moving back to nature when it comes to farming. Now, organic products are becoming popular in the country. This method of farming rejects the scientific methods and focuses on natural ways to grow crops.

The system gives stress on living organisms for farming. The originator of this kind of farming was Masanobu Fukuoka. Natural farming is also called as ecological farming. According to Fukuoka, if you want to make your plants grow, it is possible by observing local conditions i.e the land, weather conditions etc.

Some of the Japanese farmers still use traditional methods of farming and hence the tools are also obsolete. They basically use large wooden tools called as ooashi (used to pack) and eburi (used to smoothen) the paddy fields. Japan has however been providing training about the use of new tools and new farming techniques to its local farmers. The effect of course has been tremendous.
 

2 Comments

  • Jose Mejia said on January 15, 2014
    I am practicing environmentally sound agriculture in Honduras. I am putting in practice some Fukuoka experience. I am interested to visit Japan this year and to have the chance to share and learn about these topics. Salomon
  • Dipendra said on April 17, 2015
    Hello there, my father is a traditional Indian farmer. Generally he grow crops like wheat, rice, potato and sugarcane. So i want to know the new advance methods in order to increase the yield. location: Muzaffarnagar, Uttarpradesh, India

    Comment

    (All the above fields are required.)