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Rice is a ubiquitous crop in Japan. When I lived in Gifu-ken, rice paddies blanketed the land in much the same way corn fields surround me here in the Midwestern US. And there's a fairly good reason for that. Japan doesn't have much land that can be easily cultivated, and rice is a hearty plant with high yields. And the culture has embraced it. One of the words for rice, gohan, is also the word for "meal." And making pounded rice (mochi) has been enshrined as a ceremony intricately tied to celebrating the new year (which is welcomed with a bowl of mochi-laden ozoni).

What's the potential problem, you might ask? Like many crops, rice is susceptible to a number of diseases and blights. This problem is exacerbated by Japan's humid climate, providing an ideal breeding ground for rice blast and bacterial blight. Scientists are currently engaged in genomic research to sequence the rice genome and determine disease-resistant varieties based on that data and extensive testing. The caveat: relying too much on a single disease-resistant strain could lead to the monocultural problem, as seen with the Irish Potato Famine.

So what might serve well as an alternative crop? Buckwheat comes to mind. It's already relatively popular in the country (think soba noodles), and is growing more so as Japan adapts more Western tastes. It's equally resilient, and high in protein. The problem? Crop yields are significantly lower. Japan's gentan system incentivizes farmers not to grow rice to stave off rock-bottom prices in the face of surplus, which begins to diversify the country's crops. Japan is currently sitting on rice surpluses that are literally rotting in silos. In the face of this surplus, perhaps now is the time for Japan to move towards a more diversified cultivation strategy by investing more in the gentan system.

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Comment by Nick Heyming on March 9, 2010 at 6:36pm
Brilliant analysis. I'd give you a +50 sustainability if I could.
Comment by Michael Andersen on March 9, 2010 at 8:41pm
Thanks! I believe that it's much easier to tweak/optimize existing structures like the gentan system to encourage greater crop diversity than it is to completely reinvent the wheel.

We still need to identify alternative high-yield crops suited for the Japanese environment, or Japan won't be able to achieve the sustainability it enjoys with rice. From an anecdotal perspective, the country already does an exemplary job at distribution, with great weight put on promoting using local produce.
Comment by Nick Heyming on March 9, 2010 at 9:03pm
Nice, I referenced you in my latest blog about it.
Comment by MoE on March 9, 2010 at 11:16pm
That is a very nice and useful resource; I'll reference it as soon as I'll post something about biodiversity,
By now, I award you a SPARK point as apparently I'm not the only inspired by your infos.
Thanks for sharing

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