Agriculture And The Growth Of Agriculture In Japan

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The agriculture in Japan reflects what most of the country eats. According to the USDA, Japan primarily grows rice, wheat, barley and oats. Japan also contains pasture ground for animals. However, it is found that rice is the most important crop grown in Japan. Even though there is limited arable land in Japan, it is essential to the economy and population growth.
Rice was introduced into Japan between the Final Jomon and the Early Yayoi Period, some scholars suggest that it could have been as early as six-thousand years ago. There are various Japanese characters from each time period that represent the growing of rice. In order to grow rice in Japan, the steep land has to be terraced. This creates small areas high on mountainsides where various things are grown. In 2012, 1.55 million hectares were used to grow rice in Japan. However, this number is significantly smaller than it has been in previous years. In 2008, 4.68 million hectares of rice were being harvested. The average field for one farmer is very small and the production of the rice is highly mechanized. The steep decline in hectares of rice grown is because the number of Japanese farm households has declined dramatically in recent years. Some farmers in Japan even consider rice farming to be a part time job and not as important as other commodities. The decline is also from a change in the Staple Food Control Act in 1969. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries asked farmers to reduce their rice acreage because of the overproduction of rice. This was put into place to lower the rice amount and spend more focus on other agricultural products in order to compensate in other areas.
However, this decline in production does not make sense because import tariff...

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... a soybean field in order to make miso, which is a popular food item in Japan. Many paddy fields are damaged when tsunamis hit and it takes a long time for the field to be productive again. So that’s why many people are changing the function of their fields.
Overall, rice is the main focus in agricultural production in Japan. It is the most widely eaten food too. Rice production has fallen in the past decade significantly and is not planning to rise again anytime soon. Agricultural production is planning to take a turn to different types of food in the next few years through changes in the use of the fields and greenhouses. This will help the economy because they will not have to import as much other types of food besides rice this way. However, it does not look like the price of rice will be decreasing since the Japanese are particular about the taste and quality.

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