Water-Saving Rice Cultivation Method in Spotlight in Japan

Tokyo, March 31 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese rice farming industry, saddled with an increased burden amid labor shortages and farmland consolidation, is shifting its attention to the water-saving dry field direct seeding method in hopes of securing stable rice production. As this method involves sowing and cultivating rice without filling rice paddies with water, farmers can skip the rice-planting and wet-tilling processes altogether. In addition, work related water management can be reduced. The method has therefore raised hope that rice farming labor will decrease significantly. Meanwhile, some companies are developing ways to secure adequate rice harvests, a major obstacle to popularizing this method. Hoping to ensure stable rice growth, food and beverage giant Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. is working on using beer yeast left over from its beer-brewing process. The company aims to aid rice seed germination and root growth by dipping seeds into or coating them with a liquid created by breaking down the yeast with a special technology. According to Asahi Group, trials performed on farmland have resulted in an increase in root density, enhancing the plants’ absorption of nutrients and water from the soil. Not filling rice fields with water under the water-saving dry field direct seeding method, however, increases the risk of weeds. BASF Japan Ltd., a unit of German chemical giant BASF SE, provides services to bring weeds under control efficiently and cut herbicide costs through the use of satellite images and artificial intelligence technology. Working with another company, BASF Japan launched in September last year a crop yield guarantee service, marking the first such service in Japan’s agricultural sector. If the yield does not reach the preagreed levels, the fees will be refunded to service users. “We are in a transition period filled with innovation,” said Yoshio Yamazaki, who heads agricultural production corporation Yamazaki Rice, based in Sugito, Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. His company’s farm has adopted the water-saving dry field direct seeding method. As a result, its capital investments on machinery dropped by about 60 pct from the amount considered necessary for traditional ways of rice farming. According to Yamazaki, 51, the adoption of the method has also led to a plunge in the per-kilogram production cost of brown rice to 75 yen from the usual level of around 340 yen. Furthermore, he expressed anticipation that the method will help reduce the environmental impact, such as a decrease in emissions of methane, which is released in large amounts from paddy fields. “We hope to provide accurate information so that anyone can adopt the method,” Yamazaki said. Meanwhile, Ryuji Otani, professor at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Agricultural Science, is cautious about the innovative rice production method. “We need to accumulate more scientific data until (the method) yields a certain amount of crops,” Otani says. He recommends that the method be used only in drought-prone areas. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]