New Rice May Help Farmers in Japan Face Climate Change
2024-10-30
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1In the Japanese village of Kamimomi, a small group of farmers began gathering their rice in extreme heat, two weeks earlier than usual.
2Kamimomi is in Japan's western Okayama prefecture.
3The area is called "the Land of Sunshine" because of its good weather.
4But farmers working in the mountainside rice fields say climate change is hurting the harvest of rice.
5Joji Terasaka farms in Okayama. He said last year a hot period dried up the rice.
6He added, "I am worried about that this year because it will be just as hot."
7This year Japan had its hottest July on record.
8The Japan weather agency said temperatures were 2.16 degrees Celsius higher than average.
9Worldwide, there has been a 1.2-degree Celsius rise in average temperature since 1850.
10Scientists agreed that warming needs to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
11Last year, Japan had a poor rice harvest nationwide because of unusually hot weather.
12Officials say the drop in harvest in Japan was partly responsible for a shortage of rice this summer.
13The low supply of rice in markets forced sellers to limit each buyer to one rice bag.
14Yuji Masutomi is a researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo.
15He said, "Perhaps people think that an increase of one degree Celsius in average temperature isn't much. But it's quite a big change for plants and crops."
16Masutomi said the rising temperatures also hurt the quality of the grain.
17Last year, the farming ministry noted that at least one-fifth of rice farms have reported a drop in quality from rising temperatures.
18"Not only is the appearance not good; people say the taste drops too," Masutomi said.
19Another problem the farmers in Kamimomi face is working under high heat.
20The average age of agricultural workers in Japan is nearly 69, among the oldest in the world.
21Older people are especially likely to suffer from the heat. For half of the year, farmers work in the heat to produce rice.
22To deal with climate change, the government is urging the use of heat-resistant varieties of rice.
23One strain, developed by a research center near Tokyo, is called Sai no Kizuna.
24Naoto Ohoka manages rice breeding at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Center.
25Ohoka said, "Last year and this year have been extremely hot, but even in those conditions, Sai no Kizuna maintained a certain level of quality."
26Sai no Kizuna was developed in 2012 to better survive high heat, wind and certain pests and diseases.
27Masutomi recommends that similar varieties of rice should be introduced across Japan by the 2040s.
28But it can take up to 10 years to develop a new strain.
29After it is approved for the market, farmers must then decide to grow it.
30The most widely grown strain of rice is Koshihikari, which does not do well in high heat.
31Even so, older farmers have not always been willing to change to other varieties.
32Farming ministry data show that heat-resistant varieties grow in only around 15 percent of Japanese rice fields.
33I'm Jill Robbins.
1In the Japanese village of Kamimomi, a small group of farmers began gathering their rice in extreme heat, two weeks earlier than usual. 2Kamimomi is in Japan's western Okayama prefecture. The area is called "the Land of Sunshine" because of its good weather. But farmers working in the mountainside rice fields say climate change is hurting the harvest of rice. 3Joji Terasaka farms in Okayama. He said last year a hot period dried up the rice. He added, "I am worried about that this year because it will be just as hot." 4This year Japan had its hottest July on record. The Japan weather agency said temperatures were 2.16 degrees Celsius higher than average. Worldwide, there has been a 1.2-degree Celsius rise in average temperature since 1850. 5Scientists agreed that warming needs to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius to prevent the worst effects of climate change. 6Last year, Japan had a poor rice harvest nationwide because of unusually hot weather. 7Officials say the drop in harvest in Japan was partly responsible for a shortage of rice this summer. The low supply of rice in markets forced sellers to limit each buyer to one rice bag. 8Yuji Masutomi is a researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo. He said, "Perhaps people think that an increase of one degree Celsius in average temperature isn't much. But it's quite a big change for plants and crops." 9Masutomi said the rising temperatures also hurt the quality of the grain. Last year, the farming ministry noted that at least one-fifth of rice farms have reported a drop in quality from rising temperatures. "Not only is the appearance not good; people say the taste drops too," Masutomi said. 10Another problem the farmers in Kamimomi face is working under high heat. The average age of agricultural workers in Japan is nearly 69, among the oldest in the world. Older people are especially likely to suffer from the heat. For half of the year, farmers work in the heat to produce rice. 11To deal with climate change, the government is urging the use of heat-resistant varieties of rice. One strain, developed by a research center near Tokyo, is called Sai no Kizuna. 12Naoto Ohoka manages rice breeding at Saitama's Agricultural Technology Research Center. Ohoka said, "Last year and this year have been extremely hot, but even in those conditions, Sai no Kizuna maintained a certain level of quality." 13Sai no Kizuna was developed in 2012 to better survive high heat, wind and certain pests and diseases. Masutomi recommends that similar varieties of rice should be introduced across Japan by the 2040s. 14But it can take up to 10 years to develop a new strain. After it is approved for the market, farmers must then decide to grow it. 15The most widely grown strain of rice is Koshihikari, which does not do well in high heat. Even so, older farmers have not always been willing to change to other varieties. Farming ministry data show that heat-resistant varieties grow in only around 15 percent of Japanese rice fields. 16I'm Jill Robbins. 17Ayaka Mcgill reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 18______________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20prefecture - n. any one of the areas into which some countries (such as Japan and France) are divided for local government 21variety - n. (biology) a kind of a living thing that is different from similar living things because of a genetic difference 22strain - n. a group of closely related plants or animals 23breed - v. to keep and take care of animals or plants in order to produce more animals or plants of a particular kind 24What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.