The Secret to Successful Agriculture in Japan(2020)

Japan, upon hearing the name of this country most people will think about the technology. Don’t get me wrong, besides being advanced in terms of Technology, it turns out that Japan is also advanced in its agricultural sector.

The progress of Japanese agriculture can be seen from the development of its urban farming system. Today, urban agriculture in Japan has become a mainstay for supplying fresh, healthy, and fast agricultural products.

In contrast to Indonesia, although it is known as an agricultural country, in fact agriculture in Indonesia cannot compete with Japan. So, what needs to be imitated by Indonesia from Japan to form superior agriculture?

High government attention to agriculture

In Japan, agriculture is really paid attention by the government. The Japanese agricultural trade system has been regulated in such a way, one of which is the problem of the types of plants to be planted by farmers. What is planted has been arranged according to market demand, so that no farmer is curious about farming as they wish.

Controlled prices for agricultural products

It is not only a matter of what is grown, the government also intervenes in the price of agricultural products. Agricultural produce will usually be purchased by the government so that the government can control the price properly.

Even so, there are also private parties who buy agricultural products. But the private sector will not buy agricultural produce below government prices. That way, there is no term that the farmers are disadvantaged because they are being played by middlemen.

Land owned by large farmers

Farmers in Indonesia are dominated by smallholders who are known for their small amount of land. Whereas in Japan, farmers are rich people, the majority of whom have at least 7 hectares of land.

Rice fields that are owned by one family in Japan are inherited in a way that is not divided as happened in Indonesia. In each family, only one child will inherit the farm. Children who really want to be farmers will be selected to inherit farmland.

Sophisticated agricultural technology

The agricultural system in Japan has used sophisticated technology. For planting, watering, and harvesting, Japanese farmers have been assisted by machines. If in Indonesia plowing the fields still using a single plow, in Japan it has used six plows so that the work can be completed more quickly in only about 1–2 hours.

Simple Tricks

Not all steps of success in Japan are influenced by advanced technology. For example, to maintain the freshness of the fruits, farmers there wash the freshly harvested fruit using cold ice water. This step can make the fruits look fresh, as if they were just picked, even though they are two days old.

High work ethic

Farming in Japan also applies working hours such as working in an office. Each farmer in Japan will have a number of employees who help manage 7–10 ha of agricultural land. The working hours have also been determined.

Apart from the aforementioned points, of course there are still many things that can influence agricultural development in Japan. So, when will Indonesia be able to have an agricultural system like in Japan?. . . . . . . . .