Japan needs to study Swiss case in effort to boost self-sufficiency in food
(From The Japan Times March 3 issue)

スイスにならえ、食料自給率アップ

Recent incidents caused by tainted gyoza dumplings imported from China have reminded the public not only of the importance of food safety, but also of just how dependent the country is on food imports. While it is important to avoid hysteria about imports from China, it is time to rethink our reliance on imported food.

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate declined to 39 percent for fiscal 2006 in terms of calories supplied — dipping below 40 percent for the first time since fiscal 1993. The rate is the lowest among developed countries.

While China is a large exporter of food to Japan, China has to import cereals. Global grain prices are rising due to such factors as widespread use of cereals as the source of biofuel, a decrease of farm land due to industrialization and crop failure due to unseasonable weather. There is no guarantee that China will continue to be a stable food exporter for Japan.

The government is trying to increase the self-sufficiency rate to 45 percent by fiscal 2015. Although prospects for achieving this goal are slim, learning from abroad may help. Switzerland's self-sufficiency rate once dipped below 40 percent but is now about 60 percent. In June 2007, the Swiss government liberalized exports and imports of cheese. But to boost agricultural production and maintain its landscape, it provides direct compensation to farmers, paid not only on the basis of land area, the number of livestock raised and their condition, but also in accordance with farmers' efforts to maintain the environment, including a reduction or halt in the use of farm chemicals.

Simply copying the Swiss method may not work for Japan. Both have relatively little arable land but Japan has about 120 million more mouths to feed. Nevertheless Switzerland's efforts should stimulate serious discussions among citizens, experts, lawmakers and bureaucrats on how to boost Japan's agriculture production and reduce dependency on imports.

最近の中国製ギョウザ中毒事件で輸入食料の安全性がクローズアップされたが、輸入食料に対する日本の依存度の高さも大きな問題だ。2006年度の日本の食料自給率はカロリーベースで39%。先進諸国の中で一番低い。

中国は日本へ食料を多く輸出しているが、穀物を輸入している。また、穀物は世界的に値上がりしている。

日本は2015年度までに自給率を45 % まで引き上げようとしている。達成の見込みは危ぶまれるが、外国の例が参考になるかもしれない。スイスは、一時40%を切った自給率を60%まで回復させるのに成功した。スイスは2007年6月にチーズの輸出入を自由化したが、農家に直接所得補償を行うなど生産増加をはかっている。

スイスの単純なまねは人口の多い日本では通用しないだろうが、食料輸入依存度を下げるため真剣な議論を行なうべきだ。