InfoAnda - Japan's hip young farmers dig in to avert food crunch

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Microsoft launches Windows 7 | 22 October 2009
Suicide bomber attacks Nigerian church in Jos | | 26 February 2012
India's Infosys reports 0.6 pct rise in profit | 13 January 2010

IMF says expects January talks with Egypt | | 28 December 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Japan's hip young farmers dig in to avert food crunch

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Asia Pacific World Japan's hip young farmers dig in to avert food crunch AFP - Monday, October 26 Send IM Story Print Japanese farmer Kaori Nukui harvests shiitake mushrooms at her green-house in Iruma, Saitama Prefecture. Over 200 young farmers and supporters gathered in March at an inauguration of the "Kosegare" network, a humble word for a farmer's son, aimed at encouraging those from farming families to return home. TOKYO (AFP) - – Young Japanese are fleeing the urban jungle for the half-abandoned countryside on a mission to make farming cool again and cut Japan's frightening food deficit in the process. Organic farming converts, rice-growing Tokyo fashionistas and other young greenfingers have trickled back into rural Japan where many farm towns have been slowly dying amid fast-greying Japan's demographic crunch. Japan, the world's second-largest economy, now imports 60 percent of its food, and many worry about future food security if climate change rocks global food supplies or energy costs swing international grain prices. In a high-tech country that grew rich on selling cars and electronics, the young farmers are standing up to reinvent the image of agriculture. "No matter how big Japan's economy is, no matter how much cash it stacks up, this country will soon be unable to buy so much food from overseas," Yusuke Miyaji, 31, recently told a crowd of young farmers. "I want to make a job in the primary sector cool, striking and profitable," said Miyaji, dressed in overalls, to applause from his audience. "Kids should dream of becoming farmers, not baseball players!" Miyaji, who comes from a pig farming family, has created a network called Kosegare, a word meaning farmer's son, that has attracted more than 200 young farmers and supporters who share his sense of crisis. "The time left for us to revamp this industry is probably about five years," Miyaji warned his squad of youthful activist farmers. Under his scheme, produce is marketed under the network's "Refarm" brand. Members share information on organic farming and urge supportive consumers to buy directly from them to cut distribution and commission costs. Encouraged by the movement, Kaori Nukui, 31, who joined her parents last year to grow green tea and shiitake mushrooms, said that after years in the city she now saw a business opportunity in family farming. "I had no interest before in taking over this business," said Nukui, who had worked for Tokyo consulting and public relations firms for seven years, as she drove a pick-up truck to a mushroom house in Iruma, north of Tokyo. "My mother also wanted me to marry a businessman rather than work the land," she said. "But when I thought of starting a business myself, I realised my parents had already built a good foundation for me." Data shows Japan's farming population is quickly ageing and that many farm households have no working heir, as birth rates have fallen and children have left country towns for the bright city lights. More than 70 percent of Japan's working farmers are aged 60 or older, and nearly half are over 70. Only 8.5 percent are aged 39 or younger. About 3,800 square kilometres (1,520 square miles) of farmland have been abandoned and laid waste throughout the nation. In 88 percent of cases, the owners said they were too old to work the fields. Japan, which kept its food self-sufficiency ratio above 70 percent in the late 1960s, now produces only 40 percent of its food and buys almost all its wheat, corn and soy beans from overseas. Domestic production of meat, particularly beef and pork, has fallen from 96 percent in 1960 to about half in 2007. The country grows enough rice for domestic consumption, thanks to heavy trade protection which has also made the rice sector highly inefficient. The government has for years tried to reduce rice farming acreage in order to limit supply, keep the market price high, and thereby allow Japanese rice farmers to continue to make a living. The new government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to abolish the policy but keep subsidising rice farmers. Seeing the dire situation of farmers, even girls with trendy hairstyles and long painted fingernails in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya shopping district have jumped onto the rural bandwagon. Shiho Fujita, a 24-year-old singer, music producer and model, is leading a squad of "gal" farmers who have cultivated rice in the countryside, and dishes out advice in her blog on growing zucchini and tomatoes. "It may be difficult for gals and young people to start farming instantly," she writes. "But if the agro-industry becomes more exciting by young people joining it, then Japan's farming will definitely change. "And I think, Japan needs it." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Crowded theaters build momentum for 3-D at home AP - Monday, October 26 Warner Bros. nears deal for animated feature Reuters - Monday, October 26 Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" get darker reading Reuters - Monday, October 26 Saudi journalist sentenced 60 lashes Reuters - Monday, October 26 B'way takes a new look at 'Brighton Beach Memoirs' AP - Monday, October 26 News Search Top Stories Sean Penn arrives in Cuba to interview Fidel Castro Iraqi security on high alert after day of carnage Madoff associate Picower found dead: police IMF demands Ukraine veto new wage, pension law Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour Bridge More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Recession or not? US economy likely to be in limbo Obama declares swine flu emergency Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour Bridge Europe swine flu spreads, 'millions' infected in US Sean Penn arrives in Cuba to interview Fidel Castro More Most Viewed » Boyzone singer Gately dies in Spain Mobile phone giant Nokia sues Apple over patents More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Monday, 26 October 2009
Israeli police, Arabs clash near Jerusalem mosque
IMF demands Ukraine veto new wage, pension law
Afghan strategy lacking without credible partner: Abdullah
Twin suicide bombings kill 99 in Baghdad
Merkel's new govt dubbed political 'Jurassic Park'
Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour Bridge
Libya says two Swiss held in 'good' conditions
Iraqi searches for brothers in ancient cemetery
Opposition activist killed in Russia's Ingushetia | International |
One dead, one missing after storms hit Greece | International |
NATO, Afghans probe death of four civilians
U.N. experts inspect Iran's new nuclear site
Israel to review its own Gaza war probe: source | International |
Developing nation Anglicans decline pope's offer | International |
Major attacks in Iraq since Jan. 1
Rockslide in NC near Tennessee shuts Interstate 40
Shrimp's eye points way to better DVDs | Technology |
India to China: Dalai Lama an 'honored guest'
Video shows Calif. police beating of student
Afghan president, challenger endorse runoff
RI hospital has 5th wrong-site surgery since '07
From ecological Soviet-era ruin, a sea is reborn
Woman, 88, walks 10,000 miles in husband's memory
Hatoyama's DPJ wins two seats in Japan's upper house
Afghanistan president says runoff must be held
Singh to Wen: Dalai Lama an honoured guest
'Bioidenticals' not FDA-approved, contain estrogen
As workers choose health plans, skepticism abounds
Sheriff in balloon saga doesn't shy from soapbox
Man ordering food called a zombie, punched twice
FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat
Lost keys lead NJ police to home invasion suspects
Paranormal Activity scares up box office win | Entertainment |
A Minute With: Kenny Ortega on the 'It' in This Is It | Entertainment |
Singer Morrissey stable after collapsing on stage
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber diagnosed with cancer
Palestinians make world's largest embroidered dress
Composer Lloyd Webber has prostate cancer: BBC
Kadhafi says Palestinians should have nuclear weapons
Sony optical drives probed by anti-trust watchdog
Baghdad bombings death toll rises to 155 | International |
Iraqi security on high alert after day of carnage
Sony optic drives probed by anti-trust regulators
Madoff associate Picower found dead: police
U.N. inspectors reach Iran's new nuclear site: report | International |
German 'veil martyr' trial to open
Sean Penn arrives in Cuba to interview Fidel Castro
Internet 'a teenager' at 40
Shrimp's eye points way to better DVDs
South Korea shifts course on aid to North Korea | International |
UN inspectors visit once-secret Iranian site
Bombings target government in Baghdad, 147 killed
Libya's Gaddafi sorry for UK policewoman's death | International |
Leftist, ex-president head for Uruguay vote run-off | International |
Tunisian president in landslide election victory | International |
Some of the deadliest attacks in Iraq
Italy opposition elects ex-minister as new leader | International |
Police clash with Palestinians at Al-Aqsa mosque compound
US-TECH Summary
Sony in PS3 movie streaming deal with Netflix
Sony optical drives probed by anti-trust watchdog
Sony optic drives probed by anti-trust regulators
US: 4 US soldiers die in Afghan chopper collision
Militants kill 6 Pakistani security forces
Australian police post reward for 'vampire' murder
SKorean court to rule on disgraced scientist
War influx stirs tension in Pakistan flashpoint
Torrential storms lash Australia, one dead
Marshalls elect new president in narrow vote
Pakistan army claims more advances in offensive
Pakistan captures Taliban mountain stronghold
Myanmar sees role for Suu Kyi in political process: Thailand
AP bureau chief Mike McQueen dies at 52
Police vet more than 1,000 tips in girl's death
Sony in PS3 movie streaming deal with Netflix | Technology |
Yes, she can: Obama's golfers a men's club no more
Sony optical drives probed by anti-trust watchdog | Technology |
Feds interview crew of plane that overshot airport
Axelrod remains mindful of daughter with epilepsy
THE INFLUENCE GAME: Gates sways government dollars
Sheriff in balloon saga doesn't shy from soapbox
Texas child sex abuser gets 80 life sentences
Official: China's economy better than expected
Seoul shares turn higher after GDP; drug firms rise
SKorea's economy registers major growth rate
S.Korea inventories boost growth, clouds rates outlook
S.Korea T-bonds dive after strong GDP data
SKorea's economy grows at fastest pace in 7 years
Korea Hot Stocks
Seoul shares open down; Q3 GDP data helps sentiment
SKorea's economy grows 2.9 percent in 3rd quarter
Japan's hip young farmers dig in to avert food crunch
Warner Bros. nears deal for animated feature
Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" get darker reading
Saudi journalist sentenced 60 lashes
B'way takes a new look at 'Brighton Beach Memoirs'
'Paranormal Activity' scares up box-office gold
Dubai auction sets highest guide price for Arab artist
Fair Trade makes inroads among hemmed-in West Bank farmers
Cheryl Cole tops British charts
Gasol to guest star on 'CSI: Miami'
Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs get darker reading | Entertainment |
Warner Bros. nears deal for animated feature | Entertainment |
Saudi journalist sentenced 60 lashes | Entertainment |
ING to raise 7.5 bln euros to repay govt, restructure
Governor blames security forces for Baghdad carnage
Chopper crash kills 10 Americans in Afghanistan
Internet shakeup looms with multilingual addresses
German consumer sentiment falls: GfK
Iran hints at acceptance of atom deal with powers
Electrolux to close two US plants
Sony in PS3 movie streaming deal with Netflix
Iran may give 'part' of low-enriched uranium: FM
Kadhafi says sorry for British policewoman's death
Fire prompts evacuations in Santa Cruz mountains
Fidel Castro's sister
1 in 5 kids get little vitamin D, study says
India fighting kills 4 security forces, 4 rebels
Internet set for change with non-Latin addresses
AP IMPACT: Immigration agents mishandle informants
Four tried over Australian army suicide plot
Japanese pop star Sakai pleads guilty to drug charges
Japanese actress drug trial draws crowd of 6,000
Misery for 1.5 mln a month after Philippine storms
AP NewsAlert
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01