Agriculture in Japan: features

Japan is in many respects a unique country, and in almost all branches of human activity the Japanese way of development differs from any other. The agriculture of Japan is not an exception. Despite the fact that the natural conditions in Japan do not contribute to the development of this type of activity, agriculture and cattle breeding have always been quite developed here. At present, the share of agriculture in Japan's GDP is 2%, which is more than good on the general background of an industrialized country, especially considering that neighboring Asian countries are quite capable of providing cheap agricultural products to Japan. Nevertheless, this amount is clearly not enough, and Japan is one of the largest importers of food products in the world.

The way in which the agriculture of Japan develops depends primarily on geographical conditions and historical features. Japan is located on islands of volcanic origin, and the share of arable and pasture lands here is very small. The area of land used for agricultural needs is no more than 15 percent of the total area of the state. The main type of farm is small farms, where everything is privately owned. Traditional ingredients of Japanese cuisine are rice and seafood, so most of the producers of agricultural products are engaged in the cultivation of rice - it accounts for over 80% of production. Livestock is poorly developed due to the fact that most of the protein food the Japanese get with seafood, therefore pasture lands occupy a small part of the total area. Despite the fact that in recent years the growth of consumption of livestock products has been growing, the number of farms engaged in this type of activity is declining, since it is much more profitable to buy these products from neighbors, for example, in the same China. In addition, livestock feedstocks have to be imported from abroad, and this also affects its profitability.

So, the agriculture of Japan is basically the cultivation of rice. Here it has its own peculiarities: thus, often rice is much more expensive for farmers than later sold - this is due to the fact that they actively and often unreasonably use modern technology and information technologies in agriculture (Japan ranks first in the use of high technologies in this sector. Industry), which inevitably affects the cost of the final product. Nevertheless, such farms are not ruined and they have the opportunity to develop further taking into account the gained experience, since from the postwar period, the agriculture of Japan, especially the cultivation of rice, receives all-round support from the state, and thanks to this the demand for this product is fully covered by domestic production .

It is also worth noting that the agriculture of Japan is not only the traditional cultivation of grain and vegetable crops and livestock: a significant direction is the manufacture of silk, for which a considerable part of farmland is allocated for the cultivation of mulberry. This direction is very lucrative, because Japanese silk is very much appreciated all over the world.

Another unusual direction in the agriculture of this country is the cultivation of pearls. Traditionally, a lot of pearls grown naturally by the Japanese coast have been extracted from the coast of Japan, and recently farms are increasingly opening up specializing in their cultivation. This kind of business brings a considerable profit, and therefore it becomes more popular.

Thus, the main distinguishing features of Japanese agriculture are the small size of the land, the high degree of introduction of high technologies, thanks to which almost all the professions in agriculture presuppose a high degree of preparation, comprehensive support of farming by the state, traditional lines of activity and often small Efficiency of small farms.