Japan Inc pumps life into farming

Tomatoes and flowers thrive in the basement of a Tokyo office building. Pictures / Reuters

In an old bank vault in the basement of a Tokyo office tower, rice and vegetables are thriving under multicoloured lamps and a computer-controlled climate.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hailed the farming laboratory as revolutionary in a recent visit, arranged to promote the Government's agriculture reform plan that some believe promotes large-scale farming at the expense of the family farmer.

The laboratory, with temperature and humidity controlled by computers to optimise growth for each type of plant, can produce products faster and at better yields than outdoor farming.

The model factory was set up by a Japanese staffing agency, Pasona, to raise public interest in agriculture and with hopes of supplying farm workers for indoor and outdoor projects as the Government implements a five-year reform plan.

It is hoped that Japan Inc, which did so much to revolutionise the manufacture of everything from cars to video game players, will be lured into mega-farming.

Under the plan, companies will be allowed to lease idled farmland from individuals and the Government plans to introduce an income support system in 2007 to promote large-scale farms.

Keisuke Nemoto, a manager at Pasona, said Japanese agriculture was at a turning point where farms would be passed from families to large-scale companies.

"To turn Japanese agriculture into an attractive industry, we need to allocate excellent staff who can revitalise it," he said.

Since its opening in February, Pasona's underground farm has attracted the interest of several big Japanese companies, including car and electronics-makers.

The number of companies involved in agriculture is limited because the Government has restricted owners of farmland to the people who cultivate it.

By allowing leasing of the land, Tokyo hopes it can arrest the decline in farm production, especially as about 60 per cent of Japanese farmers are 65 or older and have little hope of anyone in their families following in their footsteps.

Agriculture represents only 1 per cent of Japan's gross domestic product, down from 9 per cent in 1960. The amount of farmland has fallen by 2.3 million hectares over the same period to 4.75 million hectares.

But the plan has drawn strong opposition from farmer groups.

"The new system will effectively drive most farmers out of business," said Yoshitaka Mashima, vice-chairman of the National Confederation of Farmers Movements. He said the Government was considering excluding farmers with fewer than 15ha from the support system (the average farm size is 1.5ha).

Critics say the Government's protection has further weakened Japanese agriculture.

Kazuhito Yamashita, of the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, said if the Government stopped supporting domestic farm products, small and inefficient farms would cease and competitive farms would expand by leasing abandoned farmland.

- REUTERS