Japan's agricultural market seeks a way out for small farmers

In Japan, the rural employed population is about 2.6 million, accounting for 6% of the total national population, and it likewise faces the aging of the rural population and the problem of young people leaving farming. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan has carried out many rescue measures, among which "widely establishing direct-sales shops and home-delivery channels for domestically produced farm products, so that profits return to farmers" has become something strongly promoted in recent years.

During several study visits to Japan, I found that Japan has many enviable practices in the distribution channels for farm products nationwide, which I will introduce one by one here.

 

First, the establishment of markets.

The Miyagawa Morning Market in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, has become an important representative of Japanese markets. Every morning along the banks of the Miyagawa River, small stalls set up by local farmers sell local farm products and attract large crowds.

Because the Miyagawa Morning Market happens to be located in the traditional building district of the castle town of Takayama City, it attracts thousands of tourists every day, and strolling through the old streets and buying farm products has become a feature of the Miyagawa Morning Market.

 

More importantly, the farm products in the morning market are advertised with "morning dew not yet dried" and "the scent of soil not yet dispersed," building the market's character on regionally produced farm products. One interesting thing is that many stalls are run by young people, some participating in farming in the countryside, and some being half-X, half-farming, helping their parents bring vegetables to sell in the morning and then hurrying off to work.

 

Second, the emergence of cooperatives.

Cooperatives have a long history in Japan, but local cooperatives in rural areas have only begun to be widely established in recent years.

The emergence of local cooperatives, besides being organized by town, similar to villages in Taiwan, sells the farm products of the village, and the operators are the mother members of farming associations, who handle processing, sales and shipping.

 

In the fishing village of Ine Town, Kyoto Prefecture, next to an observation deck overlooking the beautiful village scenery, there is a direct-sales cooperative built with land provided by the government and residents and construction funded by government loans. The shop is full of fresh local fish products, and more interestingly, because they are so fresh, many foods are offered "to enjoy on the spot," letting people eat grilled fish while enjoying the view.

 

Next, the widespread establishment of roadside stations.

Roadside stations refer to stations, rest stops and parking areas set up on major transportation routes, these conveniently located direct-sales outlets for agricultural products.

What matters about these places is that many mountainous areas are far from cities, and their point of contact with the outside is the national highway rest stops that cut through the mountains, so direct-sales outlets for agricultural products are set up at some rest stops. Besides helping outside tourists see local farm products, the large parking spaces also make it convenient for tourists to park and buy.

 

In other words, like the rest stops on Taiwan, China's highways, where the government fully outsources to contractors, the Japanese government instead provides space to look after local farmers.

The Ena City Farmers' Roadside Station in the photo is not a mountain rest stop, but is next to Ena City train station, where the government provides buildings for farmers to use at low cost to sell local farm products, making it convenient for commuters to buy vegetables and take them home.

Finally, encouraging hotels to use local ingredients.

In fact, Japanese people have an extremely strong psychology of preferring domestic goods, and the Japanese government further encourages some hotels, in using domestic goods, to also strive for local ingredients, creating an important differentiation of farm products.

At a hot spring hotel in Hokkaido, Japan, all the ingredients prepared for breakfast came from nearby farm households, and in order to proclaim to the world that they look after local agriculture, a paper card explaining this was placed after each dish.

A hot spring area can draw tens of thousands of tourists every day. Once local farm products are chosen as ingredients, it is not a small help to farmers, but simply a godsend. Relatively speaking, this also puts forward the concept of "responsible agriculture," which is to let farmers understand that the whole hotel eats local farm products, and the reputation for safety and deliciousness rests entirely on the dishes. The hotel helps the farmers, and the farmers must also have a sense of responsibility.

"Opening up channels for rural areas" in Japan is not a template of cutting a ribbon and holding a market, but rather considers multiple pragmatic approaches combining tourism, convenient transportation and corporate support to solve rural problems.