My dream is to revive the traditional Japanese farm.
Japan is known as one of the world’s leading pesticide-consuming countries. Since the end of World War II, excessive use of pesticides on farmland has caused soil pollution and endangered many creatures. Since I was a child, I have loved all the different creatures that live in farmland, in particular insects, amphibians, and fish. Today, I feel a strong sense of crisis by the fact that the number of these creatures is decreasing year by year. I want to do something to save them. That is why I enrolled to study sustainable agricultural technology at a graduate school in Japan.
By exploring the possibilities of sustainable agriculture, I want to create a form of agriculture where humans and creatures co-exist and revive traditional Japanese farming methods.
In order to bring this dream closer to reality, I applied for the study abroad scholarship program from the Japanese government. I was successful in that application and received a scholarship to study regenerative agriculture in Australia. Under that program, I was to live on a local organic farm for one year to learn cultivation techniques and farm management. I am now in Australia, living and working on a local organic farm, and am having fulfilling days learning as much as I can.
It has only been a month since I arrived in Australia, but I have already met with many organic farmers. All the organic farmers I met shared one thing in common: “we were deeply influenced by old Japanese agricultural books”. They told me that Japanese agriculture in the past was not dependent on pesticides and chemical fertilizers, but rather had a great skill in harvesting crops by making the best use of the power of nature. In addition, Japanese farmland at that time was rich in biodiversity, which was unparalleled in the world. It was not until I came to Australia that I realized the history and magnificence of traditional Japanese agriculture. Now I am proud of Japanese agriculture.
After returning to Japan and finishing graduate school, I would like to become an organic farmer and then establish a company to promote sustainable agriculture in Japan. By promoting sustainable agriculture, I hope to provide safe and secure food to consumers and save many endangered creatures. I am convinced that achieving these processes will finally revive the traditional Japanese farm.