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PANUPS: Organic Farming in Japan
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Farmer-Consumer Alliance Succeeds in Japan
January 3, 1995
A small but increasing number of Japanese growers are relying
on organic methods instead of chemical inputs and have
succeeded in obtaining yields that are 60% to 90% of those of
their chemical-using neighbors. Following a "natural" crop
calendar in harmony with the seasons, organic farmers claim
that their losses are usually only 15% to 20% and that their
produce tastes much better than that grown with chemical
inputs. Though the produce often has insect holes, a
significant number of Japanese consumers prefer organically
produced foods, and are willing to pay a higher price for it.
Roughly 150,000 to 200,000 households in metropolitan Tokyo
-- half a million to one million people -- regularly eat
"organic" produce grown without, or with "reduced use" of
chemical pesticides. Some schools and restaurants also have
switched to organic food, and at least one sake brewery
claims to use only organically grown rice in its premium
brand. The total number or organic food consumers throughout
Japan may be as high as three to five million -- about 3% to
5% of the population. Under the country's "tekei" systems,
consumers have actually entered into "co-partnership" with
organic farmers, offering financial support, making
commitments to buy all produce and even volunteering to help
weed crops.
In Japan, organic food is distributed in three primary ways:
1. "Tekei" system of close farmer/consumer cooperation.
Spearheaded by the 4,000 member Nippon Yuki Nogyo Kenkyukai
(Japan Organic Agriculture Association -- JOAA), this
partnership, which started in 1971, requires that farmers use
no synthetic chemicals and that consumers buy whatever the
farmers produce. Consumers also periodically help with
weeding and other farm tasks, and contribute toward the
purchase of capital items such as delivery vans and cold
storage facilities.
2. "Post delivery" system. Many consumers rely on
distributors who bring produce to their houses or to a
predesignated "post," usually serving three to 20 households.
Some systems have evolved into multi-billion yen operations
which receive produce from 1,000 to 3,000 or more contract
farmers located throughout the country and distribute to
10,000 to 35,000 households weekly. The largest such group,
Seikatsu Club, founded by a Japanese woman 20 years ago to
get safe milk directly from farmers, now claims to have more
than 214,000 members.
3. Organic food retail outlets. Approximately 150 retail
outlets selling organic foods have appeared in recent years
in the Tokyo megalopolis, catering to consumers who do not
belong to established groups.
In the past, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries and agricultural research institutes paid little
attention to organic farming, considering increased food
production and food self-sufficiency as top priorities. "The
ministry considered organic farming to be a passing phase
only and did not support any research in this area,"
complained the JOAA secretary-general. Now that organic
farming is on the increase, however, the ministry has issued
guidelines describing farming practices necessary for a
grower to label produce "organic." Designed primarily to
protect consumers from false advertising, the guidelines have
drawn complaints from the JOAA and consumer groups, who say
permitting use of such labels as "reduced pesticides" only
confuses the buying public. The word "organic," say the
groups, should be reserved exclusively for crops on which no
chemicals have been used.
Source: Ceres 148, July-August 1994
Contact: JOAA c/o Tomoyoshi Kiuchi, Hongo Corporation No.
1001, 2-40-13 Hongo, 9-Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113, Japan; phone
(81-3) 3818-3078; fax (81-3) 5684-3417.
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