(The positions of researchers, etc. are those at the time of establishment.
| Principal Investigator | Etsuo Ishizaka, Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences |
|---|---|
| Research Field | Sociology, Agricultural Policy and Administration, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Chemistry, Environmentalism, Medicine |
| Research Outline | When aiming to build a sustainable society in the 21st century, it is essential to construct a sustainable social system related to "food and agriculture" to ensure human survival. Today, one billion people in the world are facing hunger, which is also a factor in regional conflicts. The destruction of the natural environment due to climate change caused by global warming, intensifying market competition under globalization, and the demand for biofuels from major grains have significantly worsened the natural and social environment surrounding "food and agriculture". The foundation of "agriculture," which provides a stable supply of "food," is facing the danger of collapse. This is why one of the most urgent tasks for building a sustainable society is to establish a social system that guarantees safe "food" and its stable supply. In the case of Japan, the situation is also serious. The social system that supports "food and agriculture" is on the verge of collapse. The system that has supported Japan's food supply has long since reached its limits. The number of people working in agriculture in Japan fell below 3 million last year to 2.99 million. This is an 80% decrease from the peak of 14.54 million in 1960. Moreover, nearly half of them are over 70 years old. The number of new workers was only about 73,000 in 2007, far short of filling the vacancies left by the retiring elderly. In terms of arable land, the total cultivated area has decreased from 6.09 million hectares in 1961 to 4.63 million hectares in 2008, a 24% decrease. Abandoned farmland has increased, and as of 2005, the total abandoned farmland amounted to 390,000 hectares, more than the total area of Saitama Prefecture. The policy of reducing rice acreage has greatly accelerated this trend. The reduction of rice acreage has resulted in the loss of nearly 40% of rice paddies (3.12 million hectares in 1960 and 1.76 million hectares in 2000). This collapse of Japanese agriculture has resulted in a decline in Japan's food self-sufficiency rate. Japan's food self-sufficiency rate (in terms of calorie intake) is 39% (wheat: 13%, soybeans: 37%, oils and fats: 3%, livestock products: 17%, and rice: less than 100%), the lowest among developed countries (France: 130%, USA: 119%, Germany: 91%, UK: 74%;). As a result, Japan's "food" is heavily dependent on imports. However, international free trade supported by the WTO and other organizations does not guarantee stable competition. The excessive reliance on imports for "food" is in line with the consumer's orientation and behavior in seeking inexpensive food, but as shown in the BSE and Chinese dumpling incidents, it has not only led to a situation in which each individual cannot control even basic "food" safety, it has also put pressure on and exhausted domestic agriculture, farmers, and farm households. In order to ensure the safety and security of "food" and to support a stable supply of "food," the revival of domestic agriculture and farmers' farming security must be reconsidered. In fact, a look at the actual state of the farm economy (according to the Survey of Agricultural Management Trends) clearly shows that farm households are in dire straits. In other words, the reality is that farm households are unable to continue farming. Under globalization, in order to compete in the world market, the forces of nature are being eliminated from the production process in order to prioritize efficiency, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides are replacing the land. This means the elimination of nature from agriculture, and the disappearance of the rich relationship between people and nature that agriculture has. Moreover, it is not possible to demand safety and security for crops produced under such a system. Nature is the source of agricultural productivity. Agriculture, which is the source of "food," is supported by its inherent local characteristics and climate, and such agriculture contributes not only to crop production but also to the preservation of the global natural environment and the existence of local communities by recharging water sources and preventing landslides. All global environmental problems are linked to the food crisis. Agriculture cannot exist without destroying nature. Governments and the business community (and much of the public?) are not willing to "compete internationally. The government and the business community (and many of the Japanese people?) may think that "Japanese agriculture, which cannot compete internationally, will have no choice but to disappear. However, it cannot be overlooked that the failure of the government's agricultural policy and administration, symbolized by the policy of reducing rice acreage and the Food Control Law, has played a major role in bringing Japan's "food and agriculture" to this critical state. For example, the government's decision to tariff rice imports from 1994 has made the policy of forced rice acreage reduction within the market mechanism itself untenable. In order to increase domestic food self-sufficiency, the policy of reducing rice acreage should be stopped and rice production should be increased. In fact, farmers in various regions are saying, "Even from the viewpoint of future food supply, forcing farmers to destroy rice fields that can be produced is inconsistent with the authorities' stance of promoting the importance of food security and self-sufficiency both domestically and internationally. There are examples such as the former Kakiki Village in Shimane Prefecture and the town of Nishiaizu in Fukushima Prefecture, which share the same policy of the Basic Agricultural Law and promote multi-product and organic farming, thereby achieving both economic independence for the farmers (households) and health promotion for the town's residents. The agricultural policy has already been abandoned by farmers. There is an urgent need for a fundamental change in agricultural policy, including the abolition of the policy of reducing rice acreage and a review of how farm income and agricultural product prices should be guaranteed. In doing so, the issue of raising the self-sufficiency ratio and balancing food safety with the sustainable development of agriculture must be placed at the center of the agricultural policy agenda. As already mentioned, the issues of "food and agriculture" are too broad and complex to be tackled only by researchers in narrowly specialized fields, such as environmental issues (soil contamination, pesticide problems, etc.), issues related to agricultural policy and management, multilateral negotiations, and issues related to food safety in the context of regional communities. The purpose of this institute is to address the issue of building a sustainable society of "food and agriculture" through interdisciplinary collaboration (multifaceted approach) among researchers in a wide range of research fields in the sciences and humanities. |
| Researcher | OKANOUCHI Tadashi Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences KOSHIBE Kiyomi Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences |
| Specially Appointed Researcher | Satoru Takahashi Professor, Faculty of Global Environmental Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture Harumichi Shimazaki Director, Institute for Value-Added Agricultural Management Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences Hosei University Kazutoshi Yanami Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Tamagawa University Satoshi Onodera Associate Professor, Laboratory of Pathological Science, Showa Pharmaceutical University Tatsuyuki Kitamura Chief Editor, Urban Issues, Tokyo City Government Research Foundation Toru Nihei PhD Student, Graduate School of Policy Sciences, Hosei University （Director, Department of Extension and Nutrition Education, Food Industry Center, Japan |
| Other Research Participants | Kazuyuki Nanki Deputy Secretary General, Saitama Agricultural Council Miwako Yoshii Doctoral Program, Hosei University |
| Establishment period | July 28, 2009 - March 31, 2013 |
| Location | Ishizaka Laboratory, Faculty of Social Sciences |