reply Japan to Decarbonize Agriculture Strategy

The Mainichi Shimbun published an article titled "Decarbonization of Agriculture" on May 14. The author was Oki Asakawa. The full text is edited as follows:Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has drawn up a medium - and long-term strategy and submitted it to the Liberal Democratic Party's Agriculture and Forestry Commission on Monday. The strategy aims to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions in agriculture, forestry and fisheries by 2050, and to strengthen the use of pesticides and fertilizers that carry less environmental burden. The strategy also calls for organic agriculture to be expanded to 25% of all agricultural land by 2050 in order to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. However, there is a big gap between the goals and the status quo, and the achievement of the goals will require technological innovation in agriculture and the collaboration of producers.Centering on decarbonization, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga put forward the goal of "achieving net zero carbon dioxide emission by 2050" immediately after taking office, and the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors were also required to strengthen their response. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources announced the goal of achieving zero carbon dioxide emissions and expanding the area of organic agriculture by 2050. It also set numerical targets for reducing the use of chemical pesticides by 50 percent and chemical fertilizers by 30 percent.Specifically, the strategy calls for horticulture facilities such as plastic greenhouses to be completely fossil-fuel-free by 2050. While most plastic greenhouses still use petroleum as fuel, a transition to recycling agriculture using industrial waste heat will be sought in the future.The strategy also calls for electrochemical technology for farm machinery and fishing boats to be implemented by 2040. The strategy documents 16 efforts to "cut greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030 compared with 2013," as Mr. Suga's government announced in April.The ambitious target comes as Japan aims to compete with the United States and Europe, which have been a pioneer in decarbonisation. In May 2020, the EU released a strategy aimed at achieving sustainable food production system, which proposed to expand organic agricultural area to more than 25% of all agricultural land by 2030, reduce the amount of chemical pesticides by 50%, reduce food waste per capita by 50% and other goals, indicating its intention to achieve international standardization of EU standards.In addition, U.S. President Joe Biden said in January this year that he wants the United States to lead other countries in achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions from its agricultural sector. If those numbers become international standards, Japan's agro-water industry risks falling behind international competition as it seeks to expand exports. "Japan also needs to adopt measures to keep up with the world trend," according to an official at the ministry.But getting there won't be easy. Asia, including Japan, whose humid climate predisposes it to pests and diseases, has to rely to some extent on pesticides. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has a plan to develop low-risk agriculture and eliminate traditional chemical pesticides by 2040, but there is no guarantee that it will happen.The goal cannot be achieved without the cooperation of producers and consumers. For example, if consumers are not generally willing to buy vegetables and fruits produced through organic farming, it will be difficult for farmers as producers to carry out organic farming. At a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party's agriculture and forestry committee on November 11, someone suggested that "a new certification system should be developed to support farmers who are making efforts under the medium and long term strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water". An official at the ministry said some farmers expressed 'difficulty in understanding' and 'pessimism' about the strategy, but that the goal could not be achieved without the efforts of everyone.