Working Towards an Agriculturally Sustainable Future
JEN, along with FUMiDAS, a general incorporated association from Kumamoto, has been supporting innovators from Kumamoto who have been working to create a sustainable community in the midst of recovering from the Kumamoto Earthquake. “My Farm Management” is a new project created for young farmers by young farmers, providing training for those who plan to inherit their family farms.
Farm management study session (Credits: FUMiDAS)
Participants share current conditions of their farms (Credits: FUMiDAS)
The members of the Kumamoto Youth Agriculturalist`s Club (4H Club), consisting of farmers ranging in their twenties and thirties, discussed the significant need for the reinforcement of management on their farms after the earthquake destroyed equipment that was crucial for running the farm. By strengthening each farm`s management abilities, they will be able to respond to not only natural disasters, but also various other risks that may arise in the future. Challenges, such as the advancement of large-scale agriculture corporations and the importation of cheap foreign goods, await the young farmers. With that in mind, the training project asks questions like “What kind of relationship do you want to have with your family X years from now?” and “What are some tactics you can use to convince your parents?” and “What kind of management plan do you need to make?” In these training sessions, where the main objective was to conduct workshops that aid young farmers in the planning process of inheriting their family farms, the board members of the 4H club themselves acted as facilitators of discussion.
This training workshop sparked dialogues between young farmers and their parents, and we were able to see some positive outcomes, such as young farmers committing to inheriting their family farms with a strong will to further refine their management abilities. Kumamoto`s first agricultural inheritance support system—this will be crucial for the agriculture sector, where the aging population and discontinuation of farms have both been growing issues in Kumamoto.
Study group on inheriting a business
JEN has been providing emergency and relief support in Kumamoto ever since the Kumamoto Earthquake devastated the area in April 14th, 2016 and as of February 2019, we have successfully completed our operations in Kumamoto. We would like to thank everyone for their generous and warm support.