The Role of Japanese "Food" and Agriculture

2019/02/18

About 20 years have passed since I jumped into the world of agriculture. Currently, at my farm in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, we grow over 100 varieties of vegetables organically and deliver them directly to individuals and restaurants. Here, I would like to consider the entry into force of the TPP and changes in Japanese "food" from the perspective of such an agricultural manager.

In recent years, there has been active discussion about the impact of the TPP, such as whether the liberalization of agricultural markets will deal a major blow to domestic agriculture, or whether efficiency and large-scale operations will be promoted through competition and selection.

However, it can be said that this TPP will have almost no impact. Although some opening measures were taken, such as establishing a duty-free import quota for rice from Australia, the impact on domestic rice farmers will likely be small.

Rather, I feel that the TPP has finally started moving in the direction discussed during the GATT Uruguay Round in the 1980s. Conversely, this means that structural reform has not progressed at all for the past 30 years, and my honest impression is, "Has it finally reached this level of agreement only now?"

Furthermore, I see no material in this TPP that will promote future reforms. Mechanization and large-scale operations will likely proceed anyway, but those depend heavily on changes in the business environment such as domestic demand, and it is hard to imagine that the TPP will accelerate them.

Next, let's consider the impact on consumers. First, the TPP itself has little impact on dietary habits. However, as the globalization of agricultural markets progresses in the future, various impacts are expected in connection with changes in the lifestyles of Japanese people.

For example, let's consider cabbage. As the population decreases and elderly households, dual-income households, and single-person households increase, fewer people will buy a whole head of cabbage. It is a hassle to cook, and the volume is too much. Instead, demand for cut vegetables divided into bags—processed vegetables—is increasing. So-called "externalization of food" is progressing.

And imported vegetables support one part of that. In recent years, the import volume of processed foods has been increasing, and they reach the dining table through various routes, such as overseas agricultural products being processed overseas or imported into Japan before being processed, or domestic agricultural products being processed overseas and re-imported.

Agricultural production has not been able to respond to these changes in the food chain (food distribution) accompanying changes in household composition and lifestyles. Therefore, some small-scale farmers may go out of business because distribution becomes a bottleneck, and there is a possibility that this will make food supply unstable or narrow the range of choices for consumers. In the future, changes such as the loss of food diversity or a decline in quality may gradually appear.

So, can small-scale farmers survive amidst these changes, and what role can they play? Taking our farm as an example, the situation of fighting against "cheap and tasteless things" remains the same whether the opponent is domestic or imported, and I am not worried about the impact of liberalization. However, the business environment is certainly becoming tougher.

Actually, the biggest enemy is the "simplification of diet" among people. We are particular about season, variety, and freshness, and we ship delicious vegetables directly to consumers and restaurants at the most delicious timing. Therefore, if more people want to buy high-quality food with a focus on taste and cook it skillfully, the customer base will expand. On the other hand, if everyone becomes a person who says, "It's enough to buy a cheap ready-made salad at a convenience store on the way home from work," we cannot compete.

Japan is a society where you can "eat delicious vegetables heartily every day." I think this is very precious and a happy thing. And what is necessary to protect this rich food culture is for more people to be particular about and enjoy the "experience of eating," such as cooking together as a family, having a lively meal with friends, or looking for a favorite restaurant. If that happens, chances will arise for farmers who are making truly delicious agricultural products to win the competition.

That's why I never say, "Please protect the farmers." Rather, I want to say to everyone, "Be more selfish!" Even though Japan has matured this much and consumer demand has diversified, agriculture has still not escaped the situation of a bygone era where the goal was mass production and mass supply of homogeneous food. I believe that if everyone speaks up and strongly demands, "Let me eat something more delicious!" both production and distribution will change.

From a different perspective, agriculture can be said to be a "frontier" full of opportunities. It is only now that capital and technology from the outside will begin to flow into agriculture in earnest. While there are concerns about the aging of farmers, a younger generation starting new initiatives is steadily growing. If liberalization progresses and large-scale farmers targeting the volume zone and small-scale farmers targeting niches compete and improve together, diverse innovations will be born. Agriculture is, indeed, a creative job.