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NATURE FARMING in Japan See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275035711 NATURE FARMING In Japan Book · January 2006 CITATION READS 1 1,093 1 author: Hui-lian Xu International Nature Farming Research Center, Matsumoto-city, Japan 173 PUBLICATIONS 1,276 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Applications and implications of signal transduction and xerophytophysiology in plant production View project Organic production View project All content following this page was uploaded by Hui-lian Xu on 17 April 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Research Signpost 37/661 (2), Fort P.O., Trivandrum-695 023, Kerala, India NATURE FARMING In Japan, 2006: 1-168 ISBN: 81-308-0119-1 Author: Hui-lian Xu NATURE FARMING In Japan Hui-lian Xu Senior Researcher and Deputy Director, Agricultural Experiment Station International Nature Farming Research Center, Hata, Nagano 390-1401, Japan Abstract When chemical fertilizers began to spread in Japan several decades ago, many farmers and agricultural scientists blindly believed in chemical fertilizers and pesticides that pests would become extinct and hungers would be exterminated by chemicals. At this moment, Mokichi Okada, an orient philosopher, warned people with an opinion contrary to others and proposed his philosophy of nature farming, an agricultural system similar to organic agriculture. The main points of his nature farming philosophy includes the following: 1) fertilizers pollute the soil and weaken its power of productivity; 2) pests would outbreak from the excessive use of fertilizers; Correspondence/Reprint request: Dr. Hui-lian Xu, Senior Researcher and Deputy Director, Agricultural Experiment Station, International Nature Farming Research Center, Hata, Nagano 390-1401, Japan E-mail: [email protected] 2 Hui-lian Xu 3) nutrition favorable for pathogens causes disease susceptibility; 4) vegetables and fruits produced by nature farming taste better than those by chemical farming; 5) fertilizer poisons exist at various levels. These suggestions of Okada’s nature farming philosophy have been proved with modern scientific theories and experiments. For example, experiment results show that the accumulations of nitrogen intermediate metabolites in the tissue make the plant susceptible to diseases and pest insects. As discussed in accordance with many research achievements, fertilizer poisons exist at the medicinal or molecular level as nitrate-induced cancers and other health problems such as blue baby syndromes, at the macro ecological level as eutrophication and the consequent green and red tides caused by excessive nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizations; and at macroclimatic level as global warming by the greenhouse gases from excessive fertilization. Now, Mokichi Okada’s followers are promoting nature farming in Japan in collaboration with the recent organic movement. The principles and technologies of nature farming have been undergone development, improvement and adaptation to today’s sustainable food production. 1 Introduction When human being is enjoying a multitude of benefits from the prosperity achieved through economic development and scientific advances, serious crises of environment and food safety have closed up to us. The rapid deterioration of both the natural environment and agricultural products has become a matter of great concern for many people in the world (Kumazawa, 1996; Pimentel, 1991; Schaller, 1993; Stockdale et al., 2001). There are only a few decades before air, water, and land resources are polluted to a point of no return. People have become aroused about the possible ill effects of polluted air, water and food due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for crop production and even the use of nuclear energy for disinfection or antisepsis (Conway and Pretty, 1991; Linder, 1973; Maga et al., 1976; Maga, 1983). Concern is expressed whether the supply of such natural resources as agricultural land, forests, minerals, and outdoor recreational areas will continue to meet the growing world population if we allow the modern chemical agriculture to go further (Clancy, 1986; Dahal, 1993; Harwood, 1990; Tantemsapya, 1995; Udakawa 1993; Vogtmann, 1984). Conventional agriculture is heavily dependent on input of chemicals and petrol energy. Excessive uses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have caused environmental pollution and degradation, impaired food safety and quality and adverse effect on human and animal health (Musa, 1976). Moreover, chemical agriculture often creates an unsustainable ecosystem and the consequent unstable crop production (Vogtmann, 1984). Concerns over these problems in sustainability of environment and agriculture prompted scientists and Nature Farming in Japan 3 policymakers to reevaluate the modern chemical farming systems and seek appropriate alternative practices to ensure more sustainable food production and environment maintenance. Recently organic agriculture has received more attention all over the world (Hasumi, 1991; Lampkin, 1990; Lockeretz and Kohl, 1981; Rasmussen, 1995). In addition to organic agriculture, nature farming becomes popular in Japan (Anonymous, 1993; Matsumoto, 1993; Minamino, 1994; Okada 1993; Xu, 2000). Similar to organic agriculture in many aspects, nature farming is one of the main ecological farming systems in Japan. Agricultural products labeled by nature farming organizations in accordance with the national organic law are popular in consumers seeking pesticide-free fruits and vegetables. Recently nature farming has received increasing attention in Japan and from the whole world. Nature farming was first advocated as an alternative to chemical farming in 1935 by Mokichi Okada (1882-1955), a Japanese philosopher (Okada, 1991, 1993). Both systems of organic agriculture and nature farming advocate soil quality as the fundamental basis for healthy crops and healthy people. Nature farming differs from other organic agriculture systems primarily in its philosophical origin (Hsieh, 1993). As organic agriculture, the recent nature farming is not the reversion to the old agriculture of the 1940s (Vogtmann, 1984). Many new concepts, principles and technologies have developed since the original philosophy was established. For example, it no more restrict applications of animal manure if it is composted and beneficial microbial fertilizers are proposed to enrich the soil biodiversity and to purify the polluted environment (Higa, 1993, 1994, 1998a, 1998b). The purpose of this book is to review and discuss the history, philosophy, principles and perspectives of nature farming to provide a better understanding of this environment sound agriculture system. 2 Philosophy of nature farming Several decades ago, Mokichi Okada (1993) wrote: “Kyusei Nature Farming is a simple and effective method of growing quality food crops, without harming the environment. This technology, advocated long before the green revolution, uses available resources in a sustainable manner to produce high yields. It is an integrated approach to chemical free food production.” As believed by Okada, the green fields, emerald oceans, and desolate deserts are all inhabited with abundant life. For billions of years, the earth has changed dramatically with creations and destructions, giving birth to water, atmosphere, and land full of life, which, in various forms, has thrived through balanced ecological cycles of energy and substances. Nature has been designed in such a way that it purifies everything and produces rich biota and biomass. Different plant colonies grow in forests, on plains, and in or by lakes and marshes in a 4 Hui-lian Xu balanced state, and maintain productivity without being seriously affected by diseases and insects. The one of the keywords of Okada’s philosophy is that Nature is the God. Nature has its power or capacity to support all life forms including the human being. If respecting the nature or the law of nature, human can produce its food without destroying the environment. Nature does not discriminate any life forms in the world and consistently integrates the plants and animals into a diverse landscape. Therefore, a major tenet of nature farming is to create and maintain natural biodiversity. When early humans replaced hunting and gathering of food with domestication of crops and animals, the landscape changed accordingly. Since then, humankind has greatly reduced biological diversity by a limited selection of crop plants and animals. Annual crop monoculture represents a typical example. In response to this man-made biological simplification, nature has struggled to restore diversity. For example, the weed or other pest incidence is the effort of nature to restore the biodiversity from the monoculture. However, the human has continued to fight with nature over the biodiversity by using chemicals to kill insects and weeds. Why the nature makes incidences of weeds and pests occur? It is because human being makes nature lose diversity. If human being continues fighting with nature, the situation gets worse. Therefore, now the followers of Mokichi Okada suggest human establish a harmony and peaceful relation with nature instead fighting forever. The principles and technologies have been undergone development, improvement and adaptation to today’s sustainable food production. 2.1 Principles and requirement of nature farming today Nature farming is an ecological farming system
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