Organic Rice

Our next stop was the organic rice field, http://kyowa-sougyo.ftw.jp/.
Japan’s agriculture is one the highest consumers of pesticides and herbicides in the world. We asked the owner of the rice farm why he had decided to grow organic rice. He said that he became worried about his own exposure to the chemicals as well as the loss of biodiversity resulting from their use. The cost of the rice to the consumer is almost double compared to conventionally grown rice. We asked who was willing to pay for this organic rice and the farmer said that many parents of children who had developed skin problems and other allergies purchased his rice.

One of the techniques that can be used to increase the health of the rice field ecosystem is called “Winter Water Rice Farming”. Traditionally water was kept in the rice paddies through the winter. The ice that formed insulated the mud and the decomposition kept the temperature warm enough for macro-invertebrates to live. In modern agriculture, the use of heavy machinery dictates that the paddies be drained so that the mud can dry up enough to allow the machinery to move through and harvest. The water is left off the field through the winter. This has many consequences for the ecosystem. Without the macro-invertebrates, there is little food for the larger animals to eat. Large scale harvesting leaves little rice grain leftover for the migrating water fowl like the tundra swan, the white fronted goose and the Aleutian Canada Goose – the last being an endangered species. In addition, the birds are being squeezed out of their wetland habitat by the receding water levels – the rice paddies that once fed the wetland are no longer fed by the influx of water from the river. The lack of foragers and insect predators increases the population of the pest species, resulting in higher pesticide use.