Why do you deliver the speech?

 

My grandfather is a farmer.  Since I was a child, he has maintained his farm by himself.  However, now no one is willing to be a successor in my family.  This problem is getting serious not only in my family, but also in Japan.  We take it for granted to receive the benefits of agriculture and don’t appreciate it.  If Japanese agriculture stopped completely, we can’t live as usual...but what can we do?  Through my speech, I want everybody to think twice about what is truly needed for Japanese farmers, and for our future.  I hope my speech can be a key for you to realize the importance of agriculture.

 

 

Cultivate Your Life!

 

 

“Me, a farmer?  No way!  I don’t wanna be a farmer.  Why should I?”  That was my reaction.  To be honest, I couldn’t believe my ears.  I couldn’t believe my grandfather would ask me to be a farmer, taking over his fields and mountains.  Why should I?  My mother and her brothers didn’t, because they knew it wouldn’t pay off.  Everybody knows farming is dirty, tough and risky, and allows farmers few days-off.  It is easily affected by the weather, and it makes ladies sunburnt and muddy.  No, no, no!  Who’s gonna marry a muddy girl living in a remote village, where most of the residents are over 60?  What is worse, Japanese agriculture is going to be defeated by imported products due to TPP in the near future, isn’t it?  That is what I thought.  But since then, I cannot forget the plea of my kind grandfather, nor the sad look on his face.  Yes, he loves his fields so much that he can’t stand to see them abandoned.  When I told him I didn’t want to take over the farm, he burst into tears.

 

What would you do if you were me?  Would you take over his fields and become a farmer?  Today in Japan, people are not willing to become farmers, because in general, they only have a bad image of agriculture like me, as I mentioned, it is dirty, tough, and risky.  However, through one experience, I realized it was wrong.  Agriculture is really interesting.  So today, I’d like to talk about the agricultural problem in Japan, and at the end, I’ll share my idea to solve this problem.  Through my speech, I’ll change your attitude towards agriculture.

 

 The present situation is very serious. The average age of a Japanese farmer is over 65 and the number of farmers has been declining.  However, try to imagine this; if Japanese agriculture stopped completely, what would happen?  Agriculture is closely related to our lives. 

 

Firstly, it plays many critical roles in our living environment.  This function is called “the multi-functionality of agriculture”, for example, preservation of the land, water conservation, and protecting the natural environment. 

 

Secondly, it produces our food to live.  The Self-Sufficiency Ratio of Japan is said to be only about 39%, which is the worst among OECD countries.  However, dependence on imported food products is insecure.  In the future, Japan must be self-sufficient in food because if a food shortage became critical around the world, there would be no way to avoid a food crisis in Japan.

 

And lastly, Japanese agricultural products taste really good.  Japanese rice, in particular, is of outstanding quality by international standards, and this fact is statistically proven by “shokumichi”.  “Shokumichi” is a figure calculated by the Taste Evaluation for rice.  According to Kazunao Kato, a researcher of Akita agricultural experiment station, the shokumichi evaluation of American, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese rice showed a lower score than Japan in most of these categories.  I want to continue making such delicious rice, don’t you?

 

So, in order to maintain our ordinary lives, we need to promote Japanese agriculture, but what can we do?  Luckily, there is one clue in Yamagata: Yamagata Girls Farm.  Now, the founder, Nahoko, runs ‘Girls Farm’, aiming to revolutionize traditional agricultural systems.  They have an interesting trial called “Farm Maids”, in which owners of the rental fields can produce any vegetables they like with the help of the Girls Farm members.  And the owners can even choose their maids for an extra fee, too.  The members take care of the fields when the owners don’t have the time.  This system enables anyone to become a farmer without any tools or knowledge. 

 

After hearing about Yamagata Girls Farm, I started wanting to experience agriculture because in a picture the Girls Farm members were working in laughter.  So in fact, I helped on my grandfather’s farm this summer.  As I imagined, it was very hard for me, because I walked around and carried heavy harvests all day.  However, when I saw the mountain of harvested vegetables and ate some, I felt completely refreshed.  That sense of accomplishment was really immeasurable.  At that time, my opinion of agriculture was brightly changed.  I realized that agriculture is very interesting.  From then, I came to think about taking over my grandfather’s farm in the future.

 

So now, everyone, I’d like you to experience agriculture at a place like Yamagata Girls Farm.  Such organizations exist in each prefecture, for example, Smile Farm in Tokyo and Green Garden in Osaka.  So we can easily join them and enjoy agricultural activity.  Once you find a delight in farming, without doubt you will come to want to know more about agriculture, and gain more interest in it like me.  Then, we can make a good chance to increase the farming population, and lastly, I want to completely revive Japanese agriculture in the future.  This is my ideal.

 

Now I have a new awareness of the agricultural issues in Japan, and I’m in a position where I can take over my grandfather’s farm.  However, I cannot take it over right away.  For now, what I can do for Japanese agriculture is very limited, but I can argue the need for it in this place.  I hope you all realize the importance of Japanese agriculture, and take an interest in it.  And I’d be really glad if the number of people who have an interest in becoming a farmer increased eventually. 

 

So guys, if you have any free time, please try farming experience!  Because, when we try it, we can cultivate our thoughts and we cultivate our lives!