Summary of agricultural land restoration and environmental conservation in Tsukui District - Kanagawa Prefecture - 2004

Summary of agricultural land restoration and environmental conservation in Tsukui District - Kanagawa Prefecture - 2004

In 2004, a project to regenerate abandoned farmland using cattle grazing began in Tsukui Ward, Kanagawa Prefecture. Grazing allows cattle to eat 5070 kg of weeds per day and regenerate 1 square kilometer of farmland in about 20 days. In addition to reducing the cost of raising cattle, this initiative has also been effective in reducing damage caused by birds and animals.

In the 2010s, grazing was adopted and expanded in other regions, including Tokushima Prefecture. The installation of electric pasture fences and the use of solar power generation have improved operational efficiency. Furthermore, in the 2020s, "smart grazing" technologies such as GPS-based cattle location tracking and remote monitoring of electric fences became widespread, reducing labor hours to 1/20th of conventional methods.

Native soybean cultivation in Tsukui has also resumed, and as local brands are being commercialized, progress is being made in balancing rural economy and environmental conservation. It is expected that sustainable grazing using smart agriculture will continue to spread throughout Japan.