Japan's new agriculture minister, Arata Takebe, has pledged not to let farm policy stall, setting out an agenda built on food security, structural reform and rural revitalisation at his first press conference after taking office, AgNavigator reported.
"First and foremost, I believe we cannot allow agricultural, forestry, and fisheries administration to stagnate," said Takebe, whose father also served as agriculture minister. "Without a strong agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sector, the regional economy cannot survive." He said the government is at a pivotal moment in carrying out food security measures and overhauling rice paddy policy, and that the ministry will focus on the structural transformation of agriculture over the next five years.
His priorities start with land and people. "I believe the most crucial issues are how to secure successors, how to protect farmland, and how to increase the income of farmers while raising productivity and keeping costs down," he said, adding that stronger regional planning and farmland consolidation will decide the future of rural farming areas. A stable food supply, he said, is the ministry's most important duty.
Under the revised Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, the agenda includes support for plant factories and land-based aquaculture, a stable rice supply, help for farmers facing high input costs, more production capacity for gluten-free rice flour and overseas markets for it, and more domestic production of inputs such as fertilisers. Japan is targeting JPY5 trillion (US$31.6 billion) in exports by 2030.
Takebe, who comes from Hokkaido, which grows 80% of Japan's potatoes, acknowledged growers' concerns about possible imports of US potatoes and said the government would take a firm approach to risk assessment and risk management in its talks with the United States.
Photo: Kropsoq / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: AgNavigator
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