The Dream of Resource-Circulating Agriculture Budding in Higashi Izumo and Iya: Perspectives from Around 2002

The Dream of Resource-Circulating Agriculture Budding in Higashi Izumo and Iya: Perspectives from Around 2002

Around 2002, the sustainability of agriculture was a major issue in Japan. In addition to the decline in food self-sufficiency, the aging of the population and the shortage of bearers were progressing, and the vitality of farming villages was being lost. Around the same time, the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-based Society and various recycling-related laws were being developed, and the trend to utilize waste as a resource was spreading throughout society, and there was a need to create a system that utilizes organic resources in the agricultural sector as well.

Against this backdrop, the "Special Zone for Promotion of Organic Resource Recycling Agriculture" was conceived in the Iya area of the Nakaumi reclaimed land in Higashi Izumo Town, Shimane Prefecture. This special zone was designed to provide institutional support for a system in which composting facilities would be set up to convert livestock manure and food waste into compost, which would then be returned to local farmland. The special zone was characterized by the relaxation of regulations such as the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law and the Fertilizer Control Law, opening the way for the conversion of waste into an effective resource.

The Iya area had newly created farmland on reclaimed land in the Nakaumi Sea, but new innovations were essential to stabilize management and ensure sustainable use of the land. The system of recycling-oriented agriculture with compost production at its core became a practical model for reducing the environmental impact of agriculture while promoting local production for local consumption and the reuse of local resources.

This attempt was more than just an introduction of agricultural technology; it was a challenge that linked environmental policy and rural revitalization, and attracted nationwide attention as an initiative that embodied the recycling-oriented society of the early 2000s.