Dreaming New Possibility of Oriental Agriculture

Asian countries have developed their traditional agriculture in harmony with the environment for the past thousands of years. However, this type of agriculture is facing challenges from the new order of international trade based on mass production-distribution-consumption. Unlike western countries, the oriental agriculture has not been successful in reducing cost by enlarging its farming scale, resulting in weakening of its price competitiveness.

It is not easy to expand the farming scale in Asia where population density is high. In the case of the Republic of Korea who has witnessed the dramatic decrease in its agricultural population for the last decades, the farming area per farm household has stayed at merely 1.5ha despite of constant support from its government. Meanwhile, the farming area per farm household of U.S.A. is 193.1ha, or 130 times bigger than Korea while that of Netherland is 25.7ha, or 17 times larger.

If it is too tough to compete with ‘giant agriculture’, how about finding new possibility from ‘small but strong farms’? Quoting from the remarks from a British economist, E.F. Shumacher (Small Is Beautiful.), “small farming is beautiful, too.”

Recently, there are some new movements of re-evaluating the traditional farming and small-holding farmers as the agricultural environment is witnessing critical changes. The tension over food security is mounting due to climate change, water shortage, and depleting oil. The wide-range use of chemicals also has been causing concern on the agricultural ecology as well as food safety. As reflection on the land-abusing and resource-wasting farming method, environment-friendly and organic-farming are emerging and drawing people’s attention.

However, it does not mean a return to the past.Still, the low-priced agricultural products are leading the order of global market. What the small-scale farmers need the most to survive in this market economy is daring change and innovation.
They have to organize themselves to lower production cost and strengthen their bargaining power. They also need to adopt advanced agricultural technologies and to improve their management skill for better productivity.

Our view on nature should be changed, too. “In the old days, you cut trees to make money, but nowadays, you grow them to make tourism capital.” ‘Small farming’ refers to the way of production valuing and treasuring up the life itself. The farmers talk to the crops as if they were their children, and take care of their livestock as if they were their family. To love life has been the source of mysterious power of oriental farming. Now is the time to make the most of its power and seek the new possibility in small-holding farmers.

The farmers should know how to touch their consumers’hearts to enhance their competitiveness. They need a ‘story’ to charm their consumers beyond price and quality. They must understand what makes the urban residents happy and what values their consumers pursue. The farmers need to deliver their ‘stories’ through their products, food, and farm-experiencing program.

How can they create new paradigm containing creative ideas and emotions? First, they need a venue for communicating and benchmarking each other. To this end, I would like to suggest organizing an “Oriental Agriculture Fair” where those farmers can sit together and talk about their dreams.

If we let the farmers with dreams and enthusiasm design and produce the Fair by themselves, they can really enjoy the festival so much more than other existing agro-products exhibitions. During the Fair, they can make their products and local food into artworks, while farmers and musicians can play and sing together. They could dress up with their products and hold a fashion show. If we graft the art and culture to the agriculture, we can create a whole new type of added value.

Let us make the most of the mysterious image of oriental agriculture, so that we can develop an agriculture of unique color and charm. Let us reestablish the oriental agriculture harmonizing tradition and history, life and culture, and human and nature. In the past, the westerners came to Asia to propagate the Green Revolution. However, in the future, they shall seek the alternative for the future agriculture from Asia.