I am Manabe, the head of the Production Department and manager of the Food Hub Project. The Food Hub Project was launched in April this year, and agriculture has now become fully operational.
Documentary footage of the Food Hub Project of the "Project to Connect the Town to Future Generations" in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture
The Food Hub Project is a new project that Monosus is working on in collaboration with the Kamiyama Town Hall and the town's public corporation, with the aim of cultivating agricultural leaders to pass on Kamiyama's agriculture to the next generation. (For more information, please read our previous article.) Since June of this year, the Food Hub Project has been trying its hand at growing rice using a "special cultivation" method.
"Special cultivation" is explained on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website.
These agricultural products are grown using 50% or less of the pesticides subject to reduction and 50% or less of the nitrogen content of chemical fertilizers compared to the customary levels in the region where they are produced (the customary use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers subject to reduction in each region).
(Quoted from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website, " Labeling Guidelines for Specially Grown Agricultural Products " on October 26, 2016)
It says:
Based on these special cultivation standards, we have set it as our own standard to not use any chemical fertilizers and instead use organic fertilizer, and have begun growing our own produce and purchasing it from local farmers.
In addition, with regard to rice production, this year we were challenging ourselves to see how much we could reduce the use of pesticides, compared to the conventional farming method which usually involves spraying pesticides about 10 times.
[Food Hub Project Agricultural Standards]
Organically grown agricultural products: In accordance with the organic JAS standards, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used. Specially grown agricultural products: Based on the standards for special cultivation, no chemical fertilizers are used and pesticides are used as little as possible. * For rice, the minimum amount of pesticides is used only when there is a possibility of disease causing a halving of yields.
Practicing social agriculture through rice cultivation.
The Food Hub Project aims to realize "social agriculture."
"Social agriculture" is not simply about companies pursuing profits or individuals pursuing a self-sufficient lifestyle, but about contributing to the environment and local communities in which we live through agriculture.
In Kamiyama, where the beautiful scenery of rice terraces remains, we are trying to put social agriculture into practice through "rice cultivation" with the theme of "raise, gather, eat, connect." Although we have just begun, I would like to write about the results of this year's experiment from three perspectives: "reproducible price," "rice cultivation and circulation," and "the possibility of a food circulation system based on corporate partnerships."
Is reproduction possible?
Grass, grass, grass, grass.
Weeding in the first year is extremely difficult.
This year, because it was the first year, I failed to weed the plants.
The family of Hakuto, the Food Hub Project's agricultural director, has been rice farmers for generations. However, this is the first year they have grown rice using special cultivation. Due to the busyness of their regular work, they were unable to weed the land, which should have been done at an early stage, and ended up doing the difficult work of removing the deeply rooted weeds.
Working in the flooded, muddy rice fields was tougher than we could have imagined, with our feet stumbling and our knees shaking. Despite this, all the members of the Food Hub, including the chefs, continued to weed the fields every day in silence, though they would sometimes joke about how "we just need to spray some weed killer on them..."
What is important here is the concept of the "reproducible price" of agricultural products.
This year's rice production at the Food Hub was successful in using pesticides only once in the early stages, despite the outbreak of disease. However, in return, a large amount of labor was put into the rice.
It is said that agriculture up to now has not given much consideration to the "reproducible price."
In normal business terms, this would involve thinking about cost and gross profit.
Because the prices of vegetables and rice are decided by the JA and the market, farmers have no power to decide prices, so it is said that they have been able to farm for many years without paying much attention to costs. This may be the reason why it is said that most farms cannot be viable unless they are family-run.
Because it was the first year, we were committed to growing rice with as little pesticides as possible, and in order to maintain the yield, we had no choice but to put in endless human labor to fight the weeds. We are discussing how much the selling price of the rice we grew would be if it were set at the reproducible price, and how to explore "what is a fair price" and "how to farm without fighting weeds."
Rice cultivation and circulation.
The importance of passing on what is taken for granted, as seen from the small community of a school.
In addition to cultivating its own rice, the company is now working with local elementary schools to cultivate mochi rice, a variety whose seeds have been passed down in Kamiyama for many years.
One day, at a Q&A session about a project hosted by the town hall,
I have been asked, "You call it food education, but how far do you actually go?" I can almost hear someone say, "You plant rice, you harvest it, and that's it, right?"
The "food education" we aim for is to have people experience the "cycle" that connects local agriculture to the next generation, with the theme of "grow, gather, eat, connect."
In this fifth grade class at Jinryou Elementary School, the students learned about rice cultivation.
- We all plant rice, remove weeds, and harvest the rice.
- Broaden your horizons by learning that there are many different varieties of rice around the world and that they are eaten in a variety of ways.
- Using the glutinous rice, everyone thinks about the dish they want to eat, cooks it together, and eats delicious food together.
- They collect their own seeds and pass them on to their younger students.
From 5th grade to 4th grade. And then we repeat that process.
Next year, we will be watching the seeds being passed down from our hands to the next generation. We believe that it is important to convey this simple idea of "recycling" in the small community of an elementary school, and we are working on this.
Adjustments are currently being made!
We will be growing rice at Monosus next year.
Monosasushi Rice: An experiment in a food recycling system based on corporate partnerships
The photo shows the harvest of rice cakes that the Food Hub Project grew together with local residents this year in a place called Onigorono in Kamiyama Town.
Next year, Monosus will take a step further from the rice cultivation in the new Food Hub Project, and will work on an experiment of a food circulation system that will be made possible by growing rice for our company cafeteria as a corporate partnership agriculture, and by partnering with the production area. The specific details of the partnership are still being adjusted, but we are imagining the following conditions.
- Contract for one tan (approximately 1,000 square meters) of rice field for one year (improvement of abandoned farmland)
- The contract amount is 180,000 yen/year paid in advance (support for new farmers)
The standard price is 18,000 yen for 30 kg, and based on the expected yield of about 300 kg per tan, this amount is paid in advance regardless of whether the yield from 300 kg is more or less depending on conditions such as weather and disease. - Choice of organic or speciality cultivation methods (agronomic risk sharing)
- The daily water management and weeding work in the rice fields are outsourced to the Food Hub Project.
- As part of employee training, you can participate in rice planting, rice harvesting, harvest festivals, workshops, etc.
- Staying at farm-inns that Food Hub will be providing (restrictions on number of people and period apply)
- Employees of contracted companies can eat at restaurants operated by Food Hub at the town resident price (1,100 yen → 800 yen)
We are also considering plans to host corporate training through social agriculture.
In supporting food circulation through this corporate partnership, I believe that choosing the third farming method is a particularly important point.
Being able to choose farming methods means sharing "agricultural risks."
This year, the continuous rain caused an outbreak of a disease called "rice blast." The diseased part is the brown node of the rice in the center of the photo above. When this disease occurs, nutrients do not reach the part of the rice ear above the node, which is said to lead to a significant decrease in yield and a deterioration in flavor. This year, we managed to get through it by using quicklime, which is approved by the organic JAS standard, between rains, but we discussed with the head of agriculture whether we should use pesticides.
By sharing this "agricultural risk" in advance not only with farmers but also with companies and the general public, I think it will be beneficial for farmers to try challenging farming methods that are better for the natural environment and people's bodies. Furthermore, I think that sharing this "agricultural risk" will make it easier for new farmers to enter the agricultural industry, and will help realize sustainable agriculture.
We are currently considering various options in this regard, but we are also discussing the possibility that this could also create a different kind of connection with the local community for urban businesses to pass on local agriculture to the next generation, and that it could also strengthen cooperation between the local community and businesses in the event of a natural disaster or other such incident in the city.
Sample package image
Although it is a little early, we are discussing introducing the new rice harvested in Kamiyama this year as "Monosasu Rice" at Monosus' anniversary party, which is scheduled to be held in November.
If you have any interest in the corporate partnership "food circulation system" in Kamiyama through the Food Hub Project, or your thoughts on the article, please let us know using this form.