Report from Australia: "Japan farmer harvests hope in our soil"

The Australian has the following report of Mr. Takemi Shirado, Iwaki-City rice farmer who went to Australia after the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant Accident to start again from scratch.

Farmer Shirado just harvested 10 kilograms of rice from 100 grams of seed rice. Now he will plant 10 kilograms of seed rice to harvest 1 tonne of rice by summer.

From The Australian (5/23/2012):

JAPANESE farmer Takemi Shirado still sounds grief-stricken and shell-shocked when talking about last year's Fukushima nuclear disaster that so devastated his rural community.

Catastrophic radiation contamination of the soil means his family won't be able to sow rice on their Iwaki rice paddies, about 60km from the crippled defunct power plant, for at least 300 years.

Other local farmers are starting to grow leafy vegetables on less-contaminated fields, but are finding consumers too scared to buy their risky produce.

But Mr Shirado is clearly not a man to moan and mope.

Instead he has come to Australia as head of a consortium of Fukushima farmers to see if north Queensland's fertile Burdekin valley might hold the solution to his prefecture's long-term fallout-affected food problems.

Mr Shirado's dream now is to turn the sugarcane fields around Ayr into fertile flooded rice paddies growing Japanese rice varieties in traditional organic ways, to supply the people of his ruined home prefecture once again with their staple food.

Yesterday Mr Shirado, official representative of the Fukushima farmers co-operative, was celebrating.

More than 15 months after the tsunami and nuclear explosion destroyed his community's quiet way of life, the proud Japanese rice grower could be found standing knee deep in green rice stalks, small Japanese sickle in hand, harvesting his first Kochi rice trial in tropical north Queensland.

"It is looking good; even though it is still early days," said a satisfied Mr Shirado.

"So far this looks like being a very good area for growing rice; I think we can grow four crops a year here and the water is very pure too."

With strict quarantine restrictions on importing Japanese varieties of rice into Australia, Mr Shirado's Burdekin rice scheme has had to start from scratch.

Three months ago he had just a handful of the required kochi rice seeds -- only 100g -- to plant in three small test plots at the Ayr agricultural research station.

After yesterday's hand harvest, he now has 10kg of rice grain to grow his next Ayr crop on more irrigated land. By August, Mr Shirado hopes to have turned that 10kg of rice into one tonne of seed, before expanding exponentially.

Local Queensland agricultural regional development manager Gareth Jones admits the plans of the Fukushima Farmers co-operative are ambitious; particularly their certainty of harvesting a rapid four crops of rice a year, each taking just three months to grow.

But he says the Burdekin needs diversity, and that new varieties of sushi or short-grain rice grown using flood irrigation, might fit well into fallow rotations of local canegrowers.

"It's no exaggeration to say that when this project started, the Japanese delegation felt they were planting seeds of hope for the future," Mr Jones says.

Mr. Shirado has the same smile of a farmer who loves farming, growing what he wants without worries of radiation contamination, like Mr. Tanno, who gave up farming in Fukushima and moved to Nagano to grow his organic carrots.

(H/T John Noah)

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3,000 Bq/kg of Radioactive Cesium in Dried Daikon in Fukushima

Dried daikon was made from daikon grown and harvested in Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture.

I don't know what to say to these farmers and food processors in Fukushima Prefecture, after almost a year since the nuclear accident started. Farmers there continued growing food in the contaminated soil, and in the case of dried daikon, continued making dried food by drying the vegetable outside in the sun as radioactive materials were falling.

I suppose it is "out of expectation" for everybody involved.

The defenders of farmers in Fukushima who grew crops last year, and there are numerous, say they had no choice, that they didn't know, and when these arguments fail they say "The purpose of life for the farmers is to grow crops, and we shouldn't deprive them of the purpose", as I just had one such defender on my Japanese blog.

To a degree, I agree, as in the case of organic rice farmer in Date City, Fukushima who REFRAINED from growing rice for the concern for radiation last year, only to be threatened by the municipal government to cultivate the contaminated land this year. The authorities are limiting choices for those who do not want to grow.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/13/2012):

福島県は１２日、福島市で収穫された大根を使った切り干し大根から、国の暫定規制値（１キロ・グラムあたり５００ベクレル）の６倍にあたる３０００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。

Fukushima Prefecture announced on February 12 that 3,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the dried daikon made from daikon harvested in Fukushima City. The national provisional safety limit is 500 becquerels/kg.

　すでに、ＪＡ新ふくしまが経営する同市内の農産物直売所５か所で計１０２袋（１袋５０グラム入り）が販売されており、県は同ＪＡに対し、自主回収と出荷自粛を要請した。

102 bags of 50-gram dried daikon have already been sold at 5 direct sales depots of JA Shin-Fukushima in Fukushima City. The prefectural government has requested the JA to voluntarily withdraw the products and halt shipment.

　商品名は「干し大根」。福島市の「ここら吾妻店」「ここら黒岩店」「ここら清水店」「ここら大森店」「ここら矢野目店」で販売された。

The brand name is "hoshi daikon (dried daikon". It was sold at JA's 5 direct sales depots in Fukushima City.

The argument by the authorities and the producers is that when the product is reconstituted with water, the radioactivity goes down.

No it doesn't. Per-kilogram radioactivity goes down because 1 kilogram of dried daikon strips may result in 10 kilograms of reconstituted daikon strips. There may be only 300 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the reconstituted daikon, but if you are going to eat 1 kilo of dried daikon strips over time, you will still get 3,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium.

There have been 3 daikon grown in Fukushima City tested since June last year, and radioactive cesium was not detected, according to the Fukushima prefectural government site where you can check the result of the sample tests for Fukushima produce.

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Fukushima's Leaf Tobacco Farmers Secured Contract with Japan Tobacco for 2012 Crop

494 leaf tobacco farmers in Fukushima will grow leaf tobacco this year and sell it to Japan Tobacco (JT), a monopoly in Japan (50% of shares owned by the Ministry of Finance) and the 3rd largest tobacco and cigarettes manufacturer in the world, next to British American Tobacco.

Did you know that there is no national safety standard for radioactive materials in leaf tobacco?

From KFB Fukushima Broadcasting Co. (2/5/2012):

原発事故を受け去年、葉タバコの作付けを断念した県たばこ耕作組合は、来年度に県中、県南、会津地方を中心に４９４戸の計４７４ヘクタールで栽培を再開する。

After the nuclear plant accident last year, the tobacco producers' union in Fukushima Prefecture gave up planting the tobacco. In the next growing season [2012], 494 farms in central, southern and Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture will resume planting on 474 hectares.

同組合と日本たばこ産業（ＪＴ）が４日までに２４年産の売買契約を結んだ。

The union and Japan Tobacco (JT) signed the agreement for the sale and purchase of the 2012 crop by Febuary 4.

葉タバコには国の放射性物質の規準値が適用されないため、ＪＴが暫定規準値（１キロ当たり放射性セシウム５００ベクレル、放射性ヨウ素２０００ベクレル）を設けている。

The national safety limits for radioactive materials do not apply to leaf tobacco. JT has its own provisional safety limits (500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, 2000 becquerels/kg of radioactive iodine).

組合によると、警戒区域と計画的避難区域の１６７戸（１３６ヘクタール）と、両区域以外で土壌の放射性物質の値から、栽培すればＪＴの規準値を超える恐れの高い一部地域の１５戸（１２ヘクタール）は引き続き作付けを見合わせる。

According to the union, 167 farmers (136 hectares) in the no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone will continue to refrain from planting, as well as 15 farmers (12 hectares) in areas with high radioactivity in the soil which may cause the crop to exceed the JT's safety limits.

By the way, JT will start selling the cigarettes made from 2011 crop. Even though farmers in Fukushima did not grow leaf tobacco last year, farmers in other prefectures did, and the harvest was radioactive. JT doesn't care as long as it is below 500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium. The highest was 217 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium detected from leaves harvested in Ibaraki Prefecture, according to JT's data measuring dried leaves. JT has assured customers that these leaves will be used in JT's cigarettes, because the cesium levels were within the JT's safety limit.

So, for added kick, look for JT-brand cigarettes come April. Make sure you don't exhale though, as people around you may not want to inhale what you exhale.

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Fukushima Farmers to Flip the Soil, Sprinkle Zeolites and Potassium to Lower Radioactivity

And call it "decontamination".

Why do they keep disturbing the contaminated soil? Why do they insist on growing anything?

First from Mainichi Shinbun Fukushima local version on flipping the soil (2/3/2012):

農地の除染対策の一つとして検討されている「反転耕」の実演会が２日、いわき市大久町の水田であった。

On February 2, there was a demonstration of "flipping the soil" on the rice paddy in Oohisa-machi in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Flipping the soil is one of the measures considered for decontaminating the farmland.

　反転耕は、水田などの表土と下層土を入れ替え、作物が放射性物質を吸収するのを抑える方法。大型農機４台を使って深さ約３０センチまで表土を掘り下げ、下層の土と入れ替える様子が公開された。

By flipping the soil so that the top soil and the subsoil get exchanged, the absorption of radioactive materials by the crops will be prohibited. In the demonstration, 30 centimeters of the top soil was dug up, and replaced with the subsoil using 4 large farm machines.

　県の担当者によると、１日に測定したこの水田の放射線量は０・３～０・４２マイクロシーベルトだったが、反転耕後の測定では０・２３～０・３マイクロシーベルトになり「効果があった」としている。

According to the official of the prefectural government, the air radiation level at this rice paddy on February 1 was between 0.3 to 0.42 microsievert/hour. After flipping the soil, it dropped to 0.23 to 0.3 microsievert/hour, which the official called it "a success".

　近所の農家など約１５０人が参加し、実演を見守った。農家からは「高価な農機が必要だ」「市全体の農地除染の計画が決まっていない中で、どう取り組むのか」などの声が出た。

150 farmers living nearby participated, watching the demonstration. They voiced concerns, saying "It will require expensive farm machines", "How are we supposed to do it when the city's plan for farmland decontamination is not there?"

Air radiation dropping from 0.3 to 0.42 microsievert/hour to 0.23 to 0.3 microsievert/hour is a success? 28% reduction for all the trouble, and radioactive materials will simply flow in from the surrounding mountains.

How are they supposed to do this "decontamination"? Well, farmers will do it with what small machines they have, and will not turn soil that deep if a council set up by Fukushima City has its way. Farmers will till the land like they always do every year, radioactivity or no, about 15 centimeter deep, as they sprinkle potassium and zeolites. And call it "decontamination".

Also from Mainichi Shinbun Fukushima local version (2/2/2012):

福島市と川俣町にある農地除染のあり方を検討する協議会が１日、同市内であり、２月～来年３月末に両市町の全ての田畑で除染することを確認した。国は、大型機械を使って表土と下層土を３０センチ入れ替える「反転耕」や「深耕」による方法しか除染費用を補助しない方針だが、「現実的ではない」として各農家が所有する農機具で耕起する方式を中心にする考えで一致した。

A council met on February 1 in Fukushima City to discuss how to decontaminate farmland in Fukushima City and Kawamata-machi, and confirmed that they would decontaminate all the farmland in both municipalities starting February 2012 and ending by the end of March next year. The national government's policy is to subsidize the decontamination methods of "flipping the soil" or "deep tilling" that use large equipment to replace 30 centimeter of top soil with the subsoil. However, the council dismissed these methods as "impractical", and instead would use the farm machines that the farmers already have and plow.

　両市町は昨秋、農地除染で連携することを決め、両市町と県、ＪＡ新ふくしまで構成する協議会を設立した。

The two municipalities decided to cooperate in decontaminating the farmland last fall, and set up a council made up of officials from both municipalities, Fukushima Prefecture, and JA Shin Fukushima.

　除染対象は、同町の計画的避難区域を除く水田２７２７ヘクタールと畑１５３３ヘクタール。放射性セシウムを吸着する「ゼオライト」やカリウムを散布後、農機具で耕起する。空間線量が高い地区や収穫された農産物から高い線量を検出した地区を優先する。

Decontamination will be done on all 2727 hectares of rice paddies and 1533 hectares of fields excluding the planned evacuation zone in Kawamata-machi (whose decontamination will be done by the national government). Farmers are to sprinkle zeolites and potassium, and plow the land with their farm equipment. Priority will be given to the areas with high air radiation levels and whose crops have been found with high level of radioactivity.

　この日は「大型機械は必要台数を確保できるのか」など、国が示した除染方法について疑問視する意見が続出。反転耕ではやせた土が上になり、数年にわたって生産が望めないことを心配する声もあった。費用負担については、国の補助金を原資とした県の交付金が使えるよう県や国に働きかけることも確認した。

On February 1, there were opinions voicing doubts over the decontamination methods shown by the national government. Not enough large equipment was one concern. Others said if the soil was flipped, then the poor soil would be on top, which would not be productive for years. As to the cost, the council would ask the prefectural government and the national government for the subsidy.

So, in Fukushima, almost everyone will effectively become radiation workers, like it or not, either by becoming decon workers to be preferentially hired by large general construction companies who will exclusively do the decon jobs in Fukushima, or by being farmers growing crops in Fukushima. As for the children of these parents who will "decontaminate" the land, Dr. Yamashita will be there to collect their data.

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Two Ways to Sell Contaminated Fukushima Rice: Sell Direct, and Discount for Wholesalers

No matter what the governments (national, prefectural) or the agricultural co-op (JA) in Fukushima say about the "safe" rice from Fukushima through vigorous testing, there are just too many ways that Fukushima rice that are contaminated with radioactive cesium can slip through and reach the consumers, without the consumers knowing that they are contaminated to a degree that they may not be comfortable eating it.

One way to sell directly to consumers, like in this case in Fukushima: "Mochi" rice (sticky rice used to make "mochi") containing 1110 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium had been sold at a farm stand in Date City, Fukushima.

From Jiji Tsushin (1/27/2012):

福島県は２７日、同県伊達市の農家が生産したもち米から国の暫定規制値（１キロ当たり５００ベクレル）を超える放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。濃度は１１１０ベクレル。県によると、この農家のもち米のうち５７．５キロが昨年１１月上旬までに市内の直売所で販売された。直売所は回収を呼び掛けている。

The Fukushima prefectural government announced on January 27 that radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg) was detected from "mochi" rice produced by a farmer in Date City in Fukushima Prefecture. The density was 1110 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium. According to the prefectural government, 57.5 kilograms of this rice had already been sold by the first half of November 2011 at a direct sales depot in the city. The direct sales depot is calling for the return of the rice.

Return? Most likely the rice has been already eaten as "mochi".

I totally fail to sympathize with the farmer who sold the rice at the direct sales depot. By 2011 fall, it should have been obvious, even to people in Date City, that their houses, farmlands were heavily contaminated. The city was measuring the radiation levels in the city and finding "hot spots" everywhere.

Another way is being practiced by the Fukushima JA: Reduce the wholesale price so that the distributors can get a fat margin, thus incentive for the wholesalers to push Fukushima rice. I'm sure they will be glad to oblige, because they mix and match with other rice from other parts of Japan anyway.

Also from Jiji Tsushin (1/27/2012):

ＪＡ全農福島（福島市）は２０１１年県産米の一部銘柄について、卸業者への売り渡し価格（相対取引価格）を引き下げる方向で調整を始めた。複数の業者筋が２７日明らかにした。早ければ３０日にも実施の方向。東京電力福島第１原発事故を受けた風評被害で販売が低迷する中、価格引き下げによる消費喚起が狙いとみられる。

The Fukushima Branch of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association (JA) has been coordinating with the wholesalers to lower the wholesale price of some brands of rice produced in Fukushima in 2011. A multiple wholesalers disclosed the news [to reporters] on January 27. The new price will be effective as soon as January 30. As the sales has slumped due to the baseless rumors after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, the Fukushima JA may be aiming at stimulating the sales by lowering the wholesale price.

　県中央部に当たる中通りコシヒカリ（６０キロ当たり）、海沿い中心の浜通りコシヒカリ（同）はいずれも１５００円引き下げ、それぞれ１万３８００円、１万３７００円に、同県産ひとめぼれ（同）は５００円下げ、１万３５００円とする案が有力。会津産コシヒカリは据え置く方向。

The wholesale price of "Koshihikari" from Nakadori (central Fukushima) and from Hamadori (coastal Fukushima) will be lowered by 1500 yen to be 13,800 yen and 13,700 yen per 60-kilogram bag respectively. "Hitomebore" brand produced in Fukushima will be lowered by 500 yen to 13,500 yen per 60-kilogram bag. The price for "Koshihikari" produced in Aizu region (western Fukushima) will not change.

I do not think it is likely that the wholesalers will pass on the savings to the retailers, if the past is any indication.

There are just too many channels through which the rice will leave Fukushima, as the Fukushima JA handles only 23% of rice produced in Fukushima anyway.

By the way, the Fukushima JA has decided on the rice growing policy in Fukushima for 2012 crop. The only areas that they say they will disallow the planting of rice are the areas that produced rice that exceeded 500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium. Everywhere else, even in those areas that were unlucky to be found with rice that had radioactive cesium between 100 and 500 becquerels/kg, the JA will allow the rice growing after "thorough decontamination" of the soil.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

We know what "decontamination" they are talking about, don't we? The rice farmers in Fukushima who grew rice last year (almost all of them) tilled their contaminated land before planting last year, mixing up the radioactive cesium, strontium and whatever other nuclides that landed with the then-clean soil underneath. Most likely they did the autumn tilling before the snowfall last year already. Most locations weren't even tested for radioactive materials in soil.

How do you decontaminate such land? It certainly won't be accomplished by thinly scraping the soil surface. Remove the top 30 centimeters? No that won't be enough, because rain may have driven radioactive materials further down. Top 1 meter then? The productive part of the soil will be gone.

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#Fukushima Farmers Angry at New Safety Standard for Radioacte Materials in Food As "Too Strict"

"With the new, stricter safety standard, we cannot farm", they say.

A small portion of Japan's consumers would say "YES!!!", while the majority would feel bad that they are not doing enough to support the poor farmers in Fukushima Prefecture. "They are victims of TEPCO and the government!" they say. "It's not their fault that radioactive materials have fallen (and continue to fall) on their farmland."

It's not their fault, but it's their choice to farm on a contaminated land and possibly produce contaminated food, just like last year, and sell it to people outside Fukushima, just like last year while they say they cannot let their small children and grandchildren eat it.

From Fukushima Minpo, not the entire article (1/25/2012):

　「厳しくされたら農家をやめるしかない」。食品中の放射性セシウムの新基準値について、厚生労働省と内閣府食品安全委員会による説明会が２４日、福島市で開かれ、出席した県内の農家らから怒りの声が相次いだ。東京以外で初めて開催されたが、国の方針に納得しない生産者の姿が目立った。一方、消費者は基準の一層の厳格化を求めている。県は放射性物質検査態勢の確立に不安を抱える。

"If the standard gets stricter, I have no choice but quit farming." There was a meeting in Fukushima City on January 24 where the Ministry of Health and Labor and the Food Safety Commission under the Cabinet Office explained the new safety standard for radioactive cesium in food. The farmers who attended the meeting spoke out angrily. It was the first meting outside Tokyo, but there were more producers who did not agree with the policy of the national government [on food safety]. On the other hand, consumers want even stricter standards while the Fukushima prefectural government is unsure how to establish a system to detect radioactive materials in food.

　「毎日食べるわけではない、あんぽ柿やブルーベリーなどの嗜好（しこう）品まで１００ベクレルとすべきではない」。説明会で二本松市の農家男性は、国が農家の窮状を反映せず基準値を厳しくしたことに憤り、見直しを求めた。「一律の厳格化により農家は生産できなくなり、特産品が消えてしまう」と訴えた。

"Half-dried persimmons and blueberries, people don't eat them everyday. The safety limit for those shouldn't be 100 becquerels/kg." A farmer from Nihonmatsu City angrily demanded the revision of the new safety standard, accusing the national government for having tightened the standard without considering the hardship suffered by the farmers in Fukushima. The farmer said, "By uniform tightening of the standard, farmers cannot grow crops, and local specialties will disappear."

　説明会には農家や行政関係者ら約１６０人が出席した。販売先から農産物の安全性について質問され続けているＪＡの男性職員は、厳格化と合わせて県内農産物の安全、安心を宣言するよう求めた。しかし、国の担当者からの明確な回答はなく、「質問に全く答えていない。厳格化だけで、消費者に食べてもらえると考えているのか」と憤った。

About 160 farmers and government administrators attended the meeting. One JA official, who has been asked about the safety of agricultural products [in Fukushima] from the retailers, demanded that [the national government] issue a declaration of safety and security of the Fukushima produce, and the declaration be accompanied with the stricter standard. But there was no clear answer from the officials from the national government. The JA official angrily continued, "You are not answering my question. Do you think the consumers would eat [our produce] just by tightening the standard?"

　県内農家には厳格化されることへの不安や動揺が広がっている。郡山市の農業男性は昨年、約２０ヘクタールの水田で作ったコメに放射性物質は検出されなかった。しかし、今年産が昨年と同じ結果になるとは限らない。「消費者に安心してもらうために厳格化は必要。ただ、わずかに検出されただけで周囲の農家ごと風評被害にさらされては安心してコメ作りができない」と嘆いた。

The farmers in Fukushima are fearful and disturbed by the introduction of the stricter safety standard. A farmer in Koriyama City said there was no radioactive material detected from the rice he grew last year on his 20 hectares of rice paddies. However, there is no guarantee that this year's crop will fare the same. "It is necessary to tighten the standard so that the consumers feel safe. But I wouldn't be able to grow rice at ease if I were to suffer from "baseless rumors" if a minute amount of radioactive materials was found", he lamented.

There is a wide, wide gap between these farmers and JA officials and the consumers who do care about radioactivity in food. The gap is so wide that I don't think they understand each other any more.

To these farmers, radioactive materials found in their crop are nothing but "baseless rumors". To the JA official, I would ask "Do you think consumers eat your food because the national government made a declaration?"

So, they will continue to farm, looking more like the tense and angry Mr. Sugeno , and not like Mr. Tanno, relaxed and happy growing food he loves after leaving contaminated Fukushima. See my January 7 post about these two farmers.

Consumers still have a choice of not eating blueberries and half-dried persimmons (they were found with rather high levels of radioactive cesium last year) from Fukushima, for now. There are people in Japan who are proposing a system whereby all food items will carry labels like "not fit for consumption for people under 20". They want the older people to eat radioactive food so that the farmers in Fukushima can continue to farm.

Now I think about it, it's not that much different from what the ICRP says. It is grotesque to me nonetheless.

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