Some Japanese take up weekend farming

Some Japanese take up weekend farming

Some Japanese take up weekend farming
Local Japanese News In English

More city dwellers are renting plots of land in the city or in nearby rural areas, where they grow their own vegetables and fruit. Underlying the trend is the philosophy of jisan jisho, or 'local food for local consumption.' The urban farming boom is at odds with the plight of the country's farmers. The sector has long suffered from high import tariffs, an outdated distribution system, and a lack of scale. Farms on this island nation average 4.7 acres, compared with 490 acres in the U.S. With a youthful exodus to the cities, the average age of the country's 2.6 million farmers is almost 66. As of February, 979,000 acres, or 10% of Japan's farmland, sat empty, according to Agriculture Ministry data. Dormant fields are a lost opportunity in a country where only about a third of the land is arable. (Los Angeles Times)
Source: cleanup