On October 5th, I attended a lecture by Yamato Oyamada, president of Odawara Kanagote Farm, a farming solar power generation (solar sharing) business based in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the western part of the prefecture. The title of the lecture was “Creating a Food and Energy Self-Sufficient
　
Town and Farming Solar Power Generation.” Farming solar power generation is a new form of agriculture that involves farming under solar panels, and is currently attracting attention. Oyamada is working to revitalize abandoned farmland into a combined industry combining electricity generation and agriculture. He currently operates in eight locations in western Kanagawa Prefecture, including Odawara City and Kaisei Town, and last year won the “1st Kanagawa Decarbonization Award.” While most agricultural solar power projects nationwide involve installing panels on tea fields in Shizuoka and Chiba prefectures, Oyamada’s approach is extremely rare, even nationwide.
　
Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate is currently less than 40% on a calorie basis, and the agricultural population is expected to decline to a quarter of its current size, or about 300,000, in 20 years. With the current rice shortage in the spotlight, Oyamada emphasized the need to reevaluate the value of rice cultivation, which is at the core of Japan’s history, traditions, and culture, rather than simply increasing production. He also stated his desire to transform agriculture into a more sustainable and profitable industry by linking it with energy production, processing, and sales, a “sixth-generation industrialization” initiative. He expressed his strong desire to create a future in which agriculture is an attractive career choice for the younger generation.
　
At the heart of Oyamada’s business is a respect for Japanese traditions and culture. This attitude has made us at GreenFaith Japan realize the importance of looking at our activities from a deeper and broader perspective, rather than simply as an environmental movement. We will continue to keep an eye on Mr. Oyamada’s activities in the future.