The
3.11 tsunami and radiation may have changed a system for good
The effects of the March 11, 2011 earthquake
and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan have wrought havoc on the long-term
prospects for the country's storied rice industry as well as doing short-term
damage, according to a report by the Philippines-based International Rice
Research Institute.
The Great East Japan Earthquake, as it is
known, is believed to be the most powerful earthquake to have ever hit Japan,
triggering a devastating tsunami that generated 40-meter waves, washing inland
and causing meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Complex.
Some 15,844 people were confirmed dead and 3,394 people have been listed as
missing.
The disaster spurred evacuation of farmland in
a 30-km radius around the nuclear plant, with consumer confidence in domestic
rice falling and cutting into a system in which the country has been able to
maintain the sovereignty of its international agricultural trade policies and
agreements, with high tariffs keeping Japanese farmers self-sustaining,
according to the report.
United States trade representatives in particular
have fought tenaciously to open Japanese agricultural markets to western
producers, to little avail, claiming that Californian Japonica rice is actually
tastier in addition to being cheaper. However, the Japanese government has
blocked nearly all rice imports from countries like Thailand and Vietnam, now
among the world's biggest producers, paying Japanese farmers nearly four times
the market value of their rice, then sells it into the food distribution system
at a loss. The system costs Japanese taxpayers nearly US$2 billion a year.
While urbanization, the drift of young people
to the cities and other factors have caused the rice sector to shrink,
rice-growing remains a revered cultural experience, with consumers and
producers saying Japanese rice is special and different from any other species.
Demographics play a grim role, however. According to one survey, more than half
of all of Japan's rice farmers are over 65 years old. Nonetheless, families
take pilgrimages back to the country in the autumn to participate in the rice
harvest, which bears the hallmarks of a cultural event rather than an
agricultural process. Although self-sufficiency been declining steadily since
World War II, "the rice industry (except for the rice crisis) has remained
at 100 percent," according to the report.
That
may no longer be true.
The report quotes Jessica Harvey, a member of
the Fukushima prefectural government office, as saying that the prefecture was
already in financial difficulty before the 3.11 disaster and was in no shape to
offer assistance to any farmers, rice farmers included. The sale of
agricultural products, including rice and sake (rice wine), had been a
significant source of financial income for the prefecture until now.
"With the devastation of consumer trust
in the products, the local rice industry has been virtually destroyed,"
the report noted. The disaster affected three kinds of farmers: those in the
30-km no-entry zone, those who were dislocated because of the earthquake
itself, and those far-removed from the situation but affected by concerns over
radiation. on the part of Japan's normally risk-averse consumers.
Despite ample production, the region's rice
stockpile, which previously had been maintained at 1.84 million metric tons,
ballooned to 2. 1 million tons because consumers wouldn't buy it, according to
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Actual damage inflicted on Japan’s rice
industry as a whole, according to a representative of the National Federation
of Agricultural Cooperative Associations identified only as a Mr Fuji, was a
miniscule 1 percent. Despite the massive earthquake, the tsunami, and damage
from radiation from the Fukushima reactors, only 100,000 metric tons of rice
were lost in all of the affected prefectures. Of the 23,000 hectares of
agricultural land affected, 20,000 hectares were rice production areas.
The report quotes the cooperative
association's Fuji as saying the most immediate effort by the rice industry, in
cooperation with the governments of various levels, is the removal of salt from
brine-damaged rice paddies affected by the tsunami. The Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries has projected that the cleanup of agricultural land,
reconstruction of paddy dikes, removal of debris, rubble and brine will take
until 2014. Radiation from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear generating plant,
however, is another question. Removing topsoil is a problem that the government
has not yet addressed. While some farmers have returned to their properties,
they do not have the funds to remove the contaminated soil and so far have not
received any financial support from the government to be able to put in crops
for 2012.
The report quotes Fuji as saying that
"concerns about the future capacity for a steady rice supply were paled by
the greater concern related to consumer confidence in future Tohoku rice
products despite the fact that beyond the 30-km no-entry zone, successful rice
growth because of effective brine removal in tsunami areas (spring 2011) also
points to a productive 2012."
Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato said in a
statement dated Oct. 12 that " “The agricultural products provided by
Fukushima Prefecture are safe and fresh." The statement was followed by a
long list of categorized cereal grains including rice and vegetable products
produced in Fukushima that have passed tests for consumption and shipment, yet
with numerous exceptions listed below each category. But consumers remain wary.
John Berthelsen
Asia Sentinel
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