The Propagation of Nature Farming

Goals and Methods

Nature Farming is a concrete means by which to promote human health. With this in mind, and in order to educate the public, MOA is not only engaged in growing and processing Nature Farming produce, but is also active in disseminating information about the principles and practices of Nature Farming. In these ways, among others, MOA attempts to contribute to the health of humankind through activities relating to food and agriculture.

MOA propagates Nature Farming in the following ways, among others:

1. Research and educational activities, conducted primarily at the Ohito Experimental Farm, and also at two other experimental farms
2. Varied activities of the Nature Farming producers' cooperatives, which have been founded in accordance with Mokichi Okada's "One town, one chapter" concept
3. Processing and distribution of Nature Farming produce by MOA's own commercial organization
4. Sales of produce through MOA members' homes and networks centered on members

Experimental Farms

The Ohito Experimental Farm

Total area: 50.0 hectares
Cultivated area: 11.0 hectares
Soil: Developed plateau soil (Non-compacting fine soil of volcanic-ash origin)
Climate: Annual mean temperature, 13.0°C
Annual precipitation: approximately 1,950 mm

The Ohito Experimental Farm is the primary facility for Nature Farming research and education.

Major experimental crops: A variety of vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, watermelons, sweet potatoes, taro potatoes, yams, onions, Japanese radishes, carrots, cabbage, spinach, and others), paddy rice, tea, shiitake mushrooms, apples, peaches, Japanese chestnuts, figs, and flowering plants

The Ohito Experimental Farm was founded in 1982, in the town of Ohito in Shizuoka Prefecture, to actualize within contemporary society Mokichi Okada's concept of a model farm. The town is adjacent to the city of Atami, where Okada designed the Zuiunkyô grounds as a prototype of the world of true civilization. Situated in a temperate area of Japan, the farm is located from 310 meters to 440 meters above sea level on a low-pitched mountain slope.

	The Nayoro Experimental Farm conducts research on Nature Farming methods for cold climates.
	The Ishigaki Experimental Farm has successfully demonstrated how Nature Farming methods can be applied in the subtropics.

The Ohito Farm is the central farm among the three that MOA operates. It functions as the center or headquarters of MOA's Nature Farming operations. Its principal activities are research, education, and training. The Nature Farming Research Institute that is located on the Ohito grounds conducts research related to improving the economic aspects of Nature Farming operations. The Institute also provides soil-analysis services. The MOA Nature Farming School, also located on the Ohito Farm, is engaged in training people to become Nature Farming instructors as well as children of farmers and other young people who are interested in becoming farmers. Trainees from both Japan and abroad are enrolled at the School.

In addition, each year approximately ten thousand people, including members of MOA producers' cooperatives, members of the Japan Agricultural Cooperative (JAC), national and local government administrators, educators, and consumers, visit the Ohito Farm. Seeing Nature Farming in person and learning about the practical aspects of this method of agriculture serve to inspire these visitors and to revitalize their Nature Farming or other natural food operations when they return home.

Also located within the grounds at Ohito is the Japanese Headquarters of the World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA), which promotes exchange and cooperation among the sustainable-agriculture movements in various parts of the world. In addition, the Ohito Ranch, a livestock farm devoted to developing safe and healthy animal husbandry techniques, has been annexed to the Ohito Farm (in 1994 the cultivation of flowering plants by Nature Farming methods was also initiated).

The Nayoro Experimental Farm

Total area: 16.0 hectares
Cultivated area: 13.4 hectares
Soil: Ashen lowland soil, brown forest-soil
Climate: Annual mean temperature, 6.6° C
Annual precipitation: approximately 1,500 mm
Major experimental crops: Potatoes, wheat, soybeans, azuki beans, maize , and a variety of other vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and others)

The Nature Farming Research Institute evaluates Nature Farming products and analyzes soil samples, compost, soil-amending materials, and natural pest inhibitors.	VAM fungi adhere to the roots of plants, allowing them to absorb phosphoric acid more readily from the soil.
The MOA Nature Farming School at Ohito offers hands-on experience in activities such as making compost.	The governments of various countries have dispatched trainees to the Ohito Experimental Farm to study Nature Farming practices.

The Ishigaki Experimental Farm

Total area: 5.1 hectares
Cultivated area: 3.8 hectares
Soil: Reddishwn loam
Climate: Annual mean temperature, 23.7°C
Annual precipitation: approximately 2,100 mm
Major experimental crops: A variety of tropical fruits (passion fruit, pineapples, and others); a variety of vegetables (carrots, string beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, and others)

This farm is intended to be a model subtropical Nature Farming operation, where studies will be undertaken regarding the maintenance and enhancement of soil productivity through such measures as the application of green manure, crop rotation, and the introduction of various tropical fruits.

Research

For the first few years after Mokichi Okada initially advocated Nature Farming in 1935, technological research and developmentf its theory, principles, and practices were left to individual farmers who adopted this system and to a limited number of specialists who were attracted to the philosophy of Nature Farming. At present, however, experimental research relating to Nature Farming is in the hands of a full-time staff, principally at the Ohito Experimental Farm in Shizuoka, but also at the Nayoro Experimental Farm in Hokkaido and the Ishigaki Experimental Farm in Okinawa.

The inception of the Nature Farming Research Institute on the Ohito Farm in 1990 marked the completion of facilities with appropriate apparatus for systematically studying and analyzing soil, crops, and the methods and results of Nature Farming. Subsequently, by scientifically analyzing farmland soil, it has become possible to provide explicit soil-enrichment advice to farmers, as well as to recommend appropiate materials to be added to soil in order to control diseases and insect pests.

The objectives of Nature Farming research are multifarious and include improving the productivity of farms that practice this system, developing affiliated industries, providing a steady supply of Nature Farming produce, and preserving the natural environment. Based on these diverse objectives, the actual research being undertaken may be classified into the following five categories:

1. Scientific and philosophical analysis of the theories and principles of Nature Farming advocated by Mokichi Okada. These include "respect for nature," "adaptation to nature," and "manifestation of the intrinsic power of soil."
2. Evaluation of possible standards for defining health as applied to soil, plants, and animals, as a preliminary step for engaging in technological research and development activities in conformity with Mokichi Okada's above-mentioned basic principles.
3. Classification of cultivation problems being encountered by Nature Farming practitioners and systematization of technical research to help resolve such problems. This includes collecting seeds of crops for Nature Farming cultivation and developing improved strains through selective breeding.
4. Farm-management studies of Nature Farming operations, in order to implement Nature Farming in a form that is appropriate to the natural and social environments of each region.
5. Other research intended to enhance the development of Nature Farming activitie s.

Actual research projects undertaken to date at the three experimental farms include the following:

1. Development of soil-enrichment technology based upon soil analysis (Ohito)
2. Development of composting techniques (Ohito, Nayoro, Ishigaki)
3. Development of tests for evaluating the effectiveness of various organic materials (Ohito, Nayoro)
4. Development of crop-rotation and mixed cropping techniques, and ways of using green manure (Ohito, Nayoro, Ishigaki)
5. Studies relating to the cultivation of a wide variety of crops and plants using Nature Farming methods (Ohito)
6. Selection of species best-suited for Nature Farming cultivation (Ohito, Nayoro )
7. Development of Nature Farming techniques for cultivating flowering plants (Ohito)
8. Evaluation of countermeasures against insect pests, diseases, and weed pests (Ohito, Nayoro)
9. Experimental cultivation of companion crops and disease- and pest-repellent plants (Ohito)
10. Surveys and studies of animal husbandry techniques based on Nature Farming principles (Ohito)
11. Study and cultivation, of tropical crops, based on Nature Farming principles (Ishigaki)

Furthermore, to promote understanding of Nature Farming and to promote awareness of its practices, MOA publishes and publicizes the results of the research. Information is disseminated in a variety of ways: holding workshops at which data is reported and evaluated for both farmers and consumers; publishing annual reports that summarize research results (Ohito and Nayoro Farms); presenting research results at scientific meetings; and publishing research results in specialized journals.

	The Nature Farming Seal Attached only to products grown on Nature Farming farmland by certified Nature Farming producers.
	The Nature Farming Transitional Seal Attached to products grown on land that is being converted from conventional methods to Nature Farming. The transition requires at least three years.
	The Low-Input Farming Seal Attached to low-input farm products, which are grown using less chemical fertilizer and pesticide than conventional farm products. Maximum permissible levels are set forth in the Standards.

Education and Training

MOA regards the education and training of farmers, farm workers, and Nature Farming instructors as a vital activity--as important as the production, distribution, sales, and research aspects of Nature Farming.

The Ohito Experimental Farm, which functions as the central facility for Nature Farming practice, is also the hub of Nature Farming educational and training activities. The MOA Nature Farming School, which was founded at the Ohito Farm in 1990, is a place where young farmers and future Nature Farming instructors receive practical education on the principles and techniques of Nature Farming.

Education at the MOA Nature Farming School is provided in two basic formats, consisting of either one- or two-year training courses, or as short-term to long-term training programs.

Training Courses

Because the training courses aim to cultivate character as well as to impart necessary farm-related skills, all students reside in a dormitory. The Nature Farming curriculum covers practical farming techniques, principles and practices of sound agricultural management, and the know-how necessary to develop rural communities that respect nature and are capable of expanding in harmony with it.

The courses include lectures on general agriculture and on Nature Farming, laboratory experimentation in biology and soil analysis, and off-site training. Lectures are given by active and retired university professors and research staff from testing laboratories, as well as by researchers and technicians from the Nature Farming Research Institute. Field studies include the production and use of compost and training in the use of agricultural machinery. These are in addition to practical training in Nature Farming cultivation, principally of vegetables and paddy rice.

The School's graduates are now active in many capacities: as producers; research-farm staff members; maners of propagation activities, both locally and abroad; and managers of Nature Farming product-distribution operations.

Training Programs

Training programs, which are offered principally at the Ohito Experimental Farm, are open to farmers from Japan and abroad, to instructors and administrators from agricultural colleges and high schools, and to personnel from local governments, agricultural cooperatives, and corporations involved in agriculture-related work.

Pursuant to technological cooperation treaties signed by MOA or the WSAA, the School also accepts trainees from overseas, including agricultural specialists and supervisors from the ministries of agriculture of various nations, professors and other teaching staff from agricultural colleges, WSAA personnel, and practicing farmers.

Furthermore, at the Ohito facility, training is also given to those in charge of propagating Nature Farming in the various prefectures of Japan, to accredited Nature Farming instructors, to Nature Farming study groups comprised of high school and college students, and to MOA personnel from both Japan and abroad

Training programs range from one week to one year in duration, and curricula are tailored to accommodate students' varied training objectives. The programs include lectures, practical training, inspection of practicing farms and distribution systems, and other educational methods. Former trainees are now active in such fields as production, research, propagation, and education; in their respective posts, they incorporate the principles, theories, know-how, and techniques of Nature Farming that they acquired through their training.

Production and Processing

MOA propagates Nature Farming because Nature Farming food products are grown and processed to maximize their safety and nutritional value.

The MOA Standards for Nature Farming Systems and Practices

The MOA Standards for Nature Farming Systems and Practices, promulgated in 1987, constitute guidelines that include the basic definitions and methods of Nature Farming, based upon Mokichi Okada's beliefs and philosophy. Nature Farming is propagated in keeping with these guidelines, which consist of four chapters and an appendix, as follows:

Chapter 1,

General rules. Specifies the definitions, concepts, objectives, and fundamental techniques of Nature Farming.

Chapter 2,

Crop cultivation. Specifies criteria for selecting cultivation techniques and plant species to be cultivated; cultivating seedlings; enriching soil; controlling diseases, insect pests, and weeds; and mulching.

Chapter 3,

Animal husbandry and management of animal excrement. Outlines basic techniques relating to the breeding of livestock and processing of excrement, particularly with regard to poultry farming.

Chapter 4,

Implementation. Specifies the procedures to be followed for certifying Nature Farming practitioners and Nature Farming farmland, and for affixing the Nature Farming Seal on certified produce.

Prior to the establishment of specific Nature Farming standards, farmers were left to interpret Okada's philosophy on their own, which resulted in considerable differences in their practices. These differences gave rise to variations in the quality of produce and in cultivation success. Because production standards did not exist, the labeling of produce was inconsistent. Also, some unscrupulous people took advantage of the growing public awareness of and demand for safe foods by distributing or retailing counterfeit "natural foods" or labeling non-organic produce as organic produce. This was another factor necessitating the establishment of standards for agricultural produce.

The promulgation of standards resolved such problems, while making MOA Nature Farming easy to understand and to implement. In other words, these standards have resulted in the following benefits:

1. The propagation of Nature Farming has been facilitated.
2. Farm-management practices have been standardized for Nature Farming farms.
3. Public trust has been established with regard to both the production process and the integrity of Nature Farming products.

MOA Nature Farming producers' cooperatives are managed not only by farmers, but by people from all walks of life.

Participants at an MOA natural food seminar learn about the relationship between nutrition and health.	Produce grown using Nature Farming methods is sold at stores like this Orange House in Atami.

The problems regarding labeling were resolved by the introduction of the Nature Farming Seal, which may be attached to produce that meets certain standards regarding quality--including those relating to size and cleanliness--and that are grown on Nature Farming farmland by certified Nature Farming practitioners who use materials that meet Nature Farming standards.

Producers' Cooperatives and Food Processors

Producers' cooperatives are regional organizations created to propagate Nature Farming, based on Mokichi Okada's concept of "One town, one chapter." They are comprised principally of farmers who practice Nature Farming, but also include consumers and representatives of agriculture-related industries.

Behind Okada's wish to propagate Nature Farming was his desire to contribute to the health and prosperity of all humanity through agriculture and food. In addition, Okada believed and taught that in order for all of humanity to attain happiness, it is necessary for individuals--the units of which humankind is comprised--to attain happiness. He explained that individual happiness would lead, in turn, to the happiness of families, towns, cities, and nations, culminating in happiness throughout the world.

Okada's wish has been realized in the form of the producers' cooperatives, which are engaged in activities on the regional level under the themes of "Creating healthy communities through agriculture and food," and "Creating a happy life by our own efforts." To help realize these ideals, membership in cooperatives is not limited to MOA members or to Nature Farming practitioners, but is open to any person interested in such goals. Members come from all segments of society, and include political and business leaders, consumers, scholars, and experts from many fields, as well as staff members of agricultural cooperatives and local governmental agencies.

In cooperation with various agencies, organizations, and groups, each producers' cooperative independently undertakes activities suited to the conditions of its particular region, with the cooperative's director guiding these efforts. Examples of such activities include cooperating with local JAC chapters regarding the implementation of Nature Farming methods and promoting the adoption of Nature Farming principles in local governments' agricultural policies. The increasing number of people practicing Nature Farming in their home gardens in urban areas indicates that Nature Farming principles and practices are being widely disseminated throughout the various strata of society nationwide.

The following are examples of the activities of producers' cooperatives:

1. Building soil and cultivating crops so as to take full advantage of the natural environment of the region. This includes the following:
   a) Publishing "Guidelines for Cultivation" that incorporate superior cultivation techniques that are applicable to the region
   b) Rotating crops and utilizing green manure and compost
   c) Jointly developing and using energy-saving, low-cost materials that make use of locally available resources
   d) Conducting a variety of workshops and inspection tours of farmland to promote technological improvements
   
2. Shipping safe and tasty produce that bears the Nature Farming Seal. This includes the following:
   a) Attaching the Nature Farming Seal, thereby certifying that the produce was cultivated in accordance with Nature Farming standards
   b) Expanding the sales of Nature Farming produce, primarily along local distribution routes
   c) Optimizing the production and variety of products, and the shipping thereof, in accordance with demand
   d) Collecting, utilizing, and providing a variety of data including trends in market demand and projections regarding production
   
3. Developing towns and people full of vitality and health. This includes the following:
   a) Training farmers and their young successors in Nature Farming production and experimental cultivation methods
   b) Propagating home vegetable gardens as a way to promote aesthetic appreciation of nature and agriculture
   c) Promoting communication and exchanges (via direct sales, consumer-financed farming, and so forth) between producers, distributors, and consumers, so as to promote their mutual understanding
   d) Holding a variety of exhibits, lecture meetings, food-sampling fairs, and other events to increase the number of Nature Farming supporters
   e) Taking steps on a regional level to protect the natural environment
   

Food-Processing Facilities

Prcessed foods utilizing Nature Farming produce are made in facilities directly operated by MOA International and in plants operated by processing companies under contract with MOA International. Both types of processors use methods that retain the nutritional value and safety of Nature Farming produce, which is marketed under the MOA brand name.

Distribution, Sales, and the Promotion of Consumer Awareness

An integral factor in the propagation of Nature Farming is the smooth operation of the food-products distribution and sales networks. To this end, MOA established its own corporation for distributing and selling Nature Farming produce and is continually making major efforts to establish consumer groups. In addition, MOA is active in promoting consumer awareness of both the relation between food and health, and the health benefits and other advantages of Nature Farming food products.

The MOA Corporation and Food Outlets

The MOA Corporation, founded in 1948, is responsible for the distribution and sales of Nature Farming produce and processed foods nationwide. In order to promote local distribution efforts and to establish distribution systems that are responsive to the needs and conditions of each region, in 1990 the nine regional business headquarters of this corporation became nine independent retail companies. This move was supported by the establishment of MOA International, which, in connection with its objective of making the propagation of natural food a national movement, is responsible for wholesaling natural foods to the nine sales companies.

The means by which Nature Farming produce is distributed in Japan can be classified in two general categories: market route and non-market route. At present, distribution is effected mainly through the non-market route, but efforts are being made to expand market-route distribution.

Nature Farming produce and processed foods are distributed and sold in a variety of ways, including via retail outlets, members' homes, mobile retail units, home deliveries, and restaurants. Individual members and representatives of consumer groups, which include MOA branch networks, regularly receive shipments of Nature Farming foods and collect payments from the purchasers. In recent years, booths for MOA Nature Farming products have been set up in certain department stores and supermarkets.

Encouraging Members' Support and Promoting Consumer Awareness

MOA members play key roles in supporting and propagating Nature Farming. To begin with, members' dues and active participation constitte the foundation on which Nature Farming research, development, and promotional campaigns are established. As noted above, members' also make their homes available for food sales and other propagation-related activities, as well as play key roles in the producers' cooperatives.

In recognition of the crucial roles that members play, MOA in turn supports their efforts. For example, each producers' cooperative sends a monthly magazine, Nature Farming, to its members, in addition to providing them with other membership privileges, such as renting audio-visual materials to them free of charge. The magazine and videos are used to disseminate information about Nature Farming and its methods, and serve as means of promoting healthy homes among MOA members and the general public.

Publications such as the Nature Farming magazine, as w as books, newspapers and videos, are distributed not only to MOA members, but also to the general public. Thus, in addition to promoting the exchange of information on production techniques, these informational materials serve to enhance public awareness of Nature Farming and to increase the number of its practitioners and supporters. Representative publications include: From the Realm of the Soil, The Living Soil, Composting (a four-part series), Alternative Agriculture, and The MOA Standards for Nature Farming Sy stems and Practices.

In addition to distributing informational materials, MOA regularly engages in other activities to elevate consumer awareness and to propagate Nature Farming and the consumption of natural, healthy foods. In this regard, to make consumers at large aware of the correlation between food and health and of the importance of natural food, MOA has been holding food seminars and health seminars in the homes of MOA members or in public halls. Such event s, held with the support and participation of scholars and societal leaders who sympathize with MOA's philosophy, are expected to strengthen the natural food movement nationally.

As a result of all these efforts, many consumers have developed a serious interest in proper eating habits. They consequently have taken steps on the local, regional, and national levels to encourage the inclusion of natural foods in home meals and school lunches. And because Nature Farming emphasizes concern for the environment, MOA's information and propagation activities have also served to encourage various environmentally beneficial programs, such as recycling raw garbage from homes for use as compost.

Nature Farming Abroad

To this day, MOA has been involved in propagating Nature Farming, not only in Japan, but in many nations overseas. This is being achieved, in addition to the acceptance of foreign trainees at the Ohito Farm, through the many agreements for technological cooperation that MOA has signed with various governments and organizations abroad. MOA has provided technological guidance to these entities when requested to do so.

MOA Nature Farming has repeatedly been tried and studied in the United States, India, Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, among other nations, in order to develop Nature Farming techniques suitable to the climate and agricultural management conditions of each locale. It is becoming increasingly common for foreign personnel who have undergone training at the Ohito Farm to contribute to the development of Nature Farming in their own countries.

Furthermore, MOA is extending full support to the World Sustainable Agriculture Association (WSAA), actively propagating on an international level a new, sustainable mode of agriculture, and working toward the attainment of harmony between the earth and humankind.