Interesting news article

[CLW]

Hello,

I found this interesting news article about farming policy in Japan.

Unfortunately, I think this is very unlikely to be happening in Thailand....

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-opening-doors-for-foreign-farming-specialists

[grollies]

I know, but how can one hope to innovate with new processes and ideas with a country whose leaders and people already know it all.

[kickstart]

The problem with Japan is the aging population ,the last  figures I read ,about 2 years ago said the average  of a farmer in Japan is 65 , and like most country's  no new  entrants are taking up  farming .

So it may be a case  of not a lot of choice  ,glad they are  going to give it a try ,what I have read  Japan  is one of the most difficult country's, for a "farang" to get  work permits  etc. and to work in .

As  for it working in Thailand  two hopes,  no hope ,and Bob Hope .     

[CLW]

I know, but how can one hope to innovate with new processes and ideas with a country whose leaders and people already know it all.

It's sad but true. Countless times I heard "farang doesn't know", "we've always done like this", "It doesn't work in Thailand", "we don't want to do like this"...

[CLW]

The problem with Japan is the aging population ,the last  figures I read ,about 2 years ago said the average  of a farmer in Japan is 65 , and like most country's  no new  entrants are taking up  farming .
So it may be a case  of not a lot of choice  ,glad they are  going to give it a try ,what I have read  Japan  is one of the most difficult country's, for a "farang" to get  work permits  etc. and to work in .
As  for it working in Thailand  two hopes,  no hope ,and Bob Hope .     

Correct, aging farmer population in Japan.
They also have programmes to support young people from the city to move to the countryside and become farmers.
So in this aspect maybe similar to Thailand.
Have young people but don't want to become farmers.

[grollies]

6 minutes ago, CLW said:

It's sad but true. Countless times I heard "farang doesn't know", "we've always done like this", "It doesn't work in Thailand", "we don't want to do like this"...

Funnily enough though the exception to this, limited admittedly, is in farming.

 

The late King's projects took on methods like raised beds for vegetables.  When I first put two in my wife said literally "we don't do that here". Her face was a picture when she saw projects on the telly (sorry dear).

 

I've a friend on a neigbouring plot and we experiment growing different things, composting, fixing mulch. Our next project is a small aquaponics set up.

 

I notice some farmers using different planting methods for instance bananas. I stop and talk to these guys and swap ideas.

 

Maybe things are changing slowly?

[CLW]

I really hope there's a slow change also with a new generation of young farmers being in the business soon

[grollies]

55 minutes ago, CLW said:

I really hope there's a slow change also with a new generation of young farmers being in the business soon

The government is promoting 'super farms' where small farmers group together their land for large -scale crops.

 

I think this will eventually lead to lower prices for vegetables, tapioca, corn, etc pushing the smaller farmer out of business.

 

Good for the consumer but bad news for smallholders. I can see in 20 years time these 'super farms' instead of being owned by a large member co-operative ending up owned by one or two rich individuals.

 

IMHO

[CLW]

The government is promoting 'super farms' where small farmers group together their land for large -scale crops.
 
I think this will eventually lead to lower prices for vegetables, tapioca, corn, etc pushing the smaller farmer out of business.
 
Good for the consumer but bad news for smallholders. I can see in 20 years time these 'super farms' instead of being owned by a large member co-operative ending up owned by one or two rich individuals.
 
IMHO

Actually the idea of grouping farmland together is a good idea but it should be sure that the land still belongs to farmers / cooperatives.
Again, the JA (Japanese Farmer's Association) is a really good example.
Having visited some of their businesses I would like to see something like this in Thailand.
But here you have the problem with the powerful big players e.g. CP group