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【JWF News Vol. 199】19 May 2021
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◇ Contents ◇
・Forward Land Improvement in the Age of Smart Systems (Part 2)
・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
- The 1st JWF Webinar: Water in Japan the lessons learned from failure in the history
- Join us! 10th APWF webinar about Water Integrity
- Introduction to the 11th APWF Webinar
・Report from the Japan Water Forum
- The outcomes of the 9th APWF webinar
- JWF Fund 2020 Completed!
- JWF Fund 2019 About 1 year after completion
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・Foreword Land Improvement in the Age of Smart Systems (Part 2)
By Dr. Yohei Sato, Advisory Council Member of the Japan Water Forum;
Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo
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Development of Land Improvement Project Systems
Land improvement projects have been undertaken for promoting a new direction in agricultural policy with the aim of improving agricultural productivity, increasing total agricultural production, selectively expanding agricultural production, and improving the structure of agriculture. During the post-war reconstruction period, these projects gained momentum as a way of boosting food production. In 1961, when the high economic growth era began, the Agricultural Basic Law was enacted. In 1963, a land consolidation project was launched for the purpose of improving infrastructure for the modernization of agriculture through high labor productivity. It was a comprehensive project: simultaneously with the consolidation of irregularly-shaped small plots of paddies into a standard plot size of 30 are (30mX100m), the construction of irrigation and drainage facilities and farm roads was carried out. In the land readjustment project, parcels of farmland were amalgamated to improve the dispersibility of land. In the 1990s, farmers were required to improve the competitiveness of agriculture with low-cost production and better labor efficiency, in response to internationalization. A land consolidation project for building large-scale plots with a standard size of 0.6 – 1.0 hectares facilitated the liquidation of farmland and fostered farming businesses by allowing them to accumulate farmland. The project helped solve problems associated with small-scale farming and hierarchy in the scale of farming business.
In the face of declining agriculture resulting from a rapidly aging farming community and an increase in unused farmland, the Farmland Banks Act was enacted in 2013. In order to facilitate further liquidation and accumulation of farmland in the hands of farming businesses so that it can be used effectively, the Public Corporation for Farmland Accumulation to Farming Businesses through Renting and Subleasing (Farmland Banks) was established. In 2017, the Land Improvement Act was revised and the Farmland Development Project Related to Farmland Banks was launched. It allows prefectural governments to undertake agricultural infrastructure development projects on farmland being leased to Farmland Banks without placing the burden of application, approval, or cost on farmers. Currently, the problems of dispersibility of farmland, small-scale farming, and hierarchy in the scale of farming business are in the process of being solved.
Land Improvement in Smart Agriculture
Today, based on the extraordinary development of computer technology, information and communication technology (ICT) is accelerating the building of a smarter society. For example, autonomous cars are in the final stage of development and urban areas are being improved using smart technologies. Agriculture DX has become a pillar of agricultural policy making. In open-field type agriculture, which mainly produces rice and wheat in flat agricultural areas, the era of smart agriculture is just around the corner, when equipment, such as unmanned fully automatic tractors and drones that spray crops and monitor for diseases and pests will be a common sight.
To realize the goal of smart agriculture, we need innovative ideas for developing large-scale farmland plots equipped with advanced ICT infrastructure, as well as high-quality water and drainage systems. We should regard farmland as “land plus equipment installed through investment in land improvement”. Therefore, public funds should be used for land improvement projects (Source: Land and Water by Goroku Satake). This idea offers some suggestions for the improvement of farmland systems equipped with advanced technologies which support smart agriculture.
Just like manufacturing companies that make their products by renting factories, machinery and equipment, large-scale farming businesses pay moderate rent (including land rent) to landowners for improved farmland (land + equipment). Farmland owners who don’t wish to continue farming can benefit from an appreciation in the value of their land without sharing the burden of improvement costs. Moreover, they can receive rental revenues by leasing out their farmland. The basis of this idea is an expansion of the current farmland development project based on the Farmland Banks system.
The differences between the current system and the new one are as follows: Land improvement will take place before land is leased out rather than after. All farmland in a district will be improved. All farmland will be designated as leased to Farmland Banks after improvement work. The system will require the approval of two-thirds of landowners. After improvement work the farmland will be used by farming businesses, with Farmland Banks taking on land management responsibilities.
I have great hopes for an improvement of agricultural infrastructure that will support the development of smart agriculture.
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・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
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- The 1st JWF Webinar: Water in Japan the lessons learned from failure in the history
The JWF Webinar Series aims to provide information that will contribute to the implementation of solutions to overcome the various water-related challenges. To make the most of the blessings of water and to protect people’s lives and livelihoods from water-related disasters, we will introduce the systems that Japan has built over the years, the inherent knowledge and culture, and the technologies and know-how developed through years of experience. The first webinar will feature an overview of water issues in Japan.
Date & Time: 28th May 2021 5pm-6pm Japan local time / 8am-9am UTC
Speaker: Dr. Kotaro Takemura Secretary General Japan Water Forum
Topic: Water in Japan the lessons learned from failure in the history
▼Flyer▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/pdf/tjkw/1stJWFWebinar.pdf
▼Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Sm8THmVcSrCL9d1T4x1r7w
（Reported by Reiko Yoshii, Manager）
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- Join us! The 10th APWF webinar about Water Integrity
Topic: Strengthening Integrity: crucial in advancing Water Security in the Asia Pacific Date and Time: 21 May 2021 4pm-5:30pm Japan local time / 9am-10:30am CET
▼Details and Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tR8m_Mm6TtehN9nXLIuh-A
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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- Introduction to the 11th APWF Webinar
Topic: Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible.
Date and time: 30th June (Wed) 4:30pm-5:30pm Japan local time / 1pm – 2pm India time
Speakers:
・Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Principal Researcher, IWMI New Delhi
・Ms. Amrtha Kasturirangan, Senior Manager, Arghyam
▼Details and Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aATofxE1TvaI7y0gjHoIAA
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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・Report from the Japan Water Forum
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- The outcomes of the 9th APWF webinar
The APWF Webinar Series is organized as a part of the preparation for the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS). It aims to provide the government officials of the 49 countries in Asia and the Pacific with the learning opportunities about water and water-related issues highlighted from different perspectives.
In the 9th APWF webinar, organized on 15 April 2021, the APWF welcomed Ms. Megan Mcleod, CEO of Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Asia-Pacific as the speaker and discussed engaging industry in sustainable water management through water stewardship.
▼Overview of the 9th webinar▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18032/
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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- JWF Fund 2020 Completed!
The JWF Fund was founded in 2005 and solely operated by Japan Water Forum (JWF), which aims to support selected grass-roots organizations in developing countries who have been addressing water-related issues in their own countries. Every year, JWF publicly seeks for projects and those adopted after due assessment will be eligible to get funding up to 1,000 USD per project.
The JWF Fund is based upon membership fees of the JWF members and donations from general contributors.
The JWF Fund 2020 financially supported seven projects aimed at solving water and sanitation issues, which are also essential for preventing the spread of COVID-19. The projects also included awareness-raising activities on infectious disease control.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/17968/
(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director and Akie Gunji, Sub Manager)
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- JWF Fund 2019: About 1 year after completion
Our priority is placed on responding to the issues and needs of the field in an efficient and effective way. Since 2015, we have been carrying out follow-up observations one year after the completion of projects in order to understand changing issues and needs.
In FY 2020, the sixth year since we started our follow-up observations, we received responses from five of the seven grass-roots organizations in the Sierra Leone, Uganda, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Haiti that had been granted the JWF Fund 2019 to conduct follow-up observation and we have been from the organizations in all the locations except the Lao PDR. With this cooperation, we have been able to conduct our one-year follow-up observations.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/17969/
(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director and Akie Gunji, Sub Manager)
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JWF News Vol. 199 / 19 May 2021
Japan Water Forum
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