Category Archives: Asian coutnries

Data shows Japanese agri-problems

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I am going to stay in Hanoi, Vietnam for a month starting from today to the end of August. The main purpose of living in Hanoi is that making a team to speed up the development of AGRIBUDDY, which is reaching the best part of completing and launching all of the facilities. Although I sound like I am so energetic for this development, I am kind of useless here right now since I can’t even write a code. So, the thing I am doing here is just being careful and quiet not to bother the engineers who are really focusing on their job.

Well, today’s blog is about there are many interesting facts going on at developing countries in Asia, where many users of AGRIBUDDY are living. A various data of the agriculture of each of these countries tell us that there are many facts we should think about.

First of all, let’s take a look at the start-ups of the field of agriculture in the U.S, which are recently booming. The number of the famers (we can say ‘people who does the agriculture business’) in the U.S is approximately one million. Massive plow lands in the U.S, which are 168MM hectares in total and cover 10% of the plow land of the world, are owned by only one million farmers. This means that 153 hectares (Little bit bigger than Augusta National Golf Club) of the plow land is owned by one farmer and it makes approximately $1600 sales per 1 hectares  (10,000㎡ or 2.47ac).

Let’s talk about Cambodia, the country I am currently living in. The number of people who do any kind of agricultural businesses in Cambodia is 3.8 million, which is about four times as big as the U.S. On the other hand, the total size of the plow land is 4.2MM hectares, which is about 1/40 of the plow land of the U.S. The yearly seals of 1-hectar-plow land in Cambodia is approximately $1200 and one farmer owns 1.1 ha on average. So, on a simple level, the annual sales (not annual income) is about $1320 and this number proves how poor the farmers in Cambodia are.

The reason why the productive value per 1 hectare of both the U.S and Cambodia are such a low is that both of them grow the low-value-added products, which are commodity products, such as corns, wheats, and rice. However, the farmers of the U.S are succeeded to gain some profits by producing huge amount of crops by implementing a model of “the large-scale production with a small group people”. In Cambodia (actually in any developing countries), they also grow the low-value-added products as the U.S does, but they do their agriculture business with a labor-intensive-method. Therefore, it makes sense that the farmers in Cambodia never be able to be rich no matter how hard they work.

Let’s talk about my country, Japan. Japan, which has many agricultural problems in many ways, has surprisingly $11,000 seals per 1 hectare and it seems like Japan is very good at the agriculture like an A-student in a school. However, by looking at it from another angle, we can see some problems, which we knew there would be.

スクリーンショット 2015-11-01 5.32.36 PM

The chart above is showing a comparison between the agriculture in Israel, which is known as one of the agricultural developed countries and the one in Japan. First of all, please take a look at the number of production value per one farmer. Compare to the number of Japan, which is about $30,000, the one of Israel is $120,000, which is four times bigger than the amount of Japan. Furthermore, the value per 1 hectare is $10,000 (Japan) and $20,000 (Israel), which means the difference between them is close to the double. Furthermore again, let’s take a look at the size of the plow land owned by one farmer. One farmer in Israel has 2.5 times bigger plow land than the plow land owned by one Japanese farmer. Let me explain this fact in short;

“The agriculture in Japan never pursues the thorough productivity. Since each of plow land is owned by Japanese workers with high labor cost, the productive value of the agriculture is not even close to the average income of Japanese workers of other business fields.”

In short, the first problem is that the number of the farmers is too big for the size of the plow land in Japan. I think it works better if we reduce the number of the farmers to 1/3 of the present number. The next problem is that the productive value per size is very small. Even the country, which is located in the middle of desert and spend 60% of the national budget as the defense expenditure, can make some profits by implementing its agriculture effectively. The fact, which is that the farmers in Japan make only half of the profit of that country, brings the result, which is “there are so many, actually more than necessary unmotivated farmers staying in the agriculture business in Japan.

I am pretty sure if these unmotivated farmers leave their land to the motivated farmers and start another jobs, these problems will be resolved immediately. However, on the other hand, I know there are some reasons we can’t even reveal are protecting the Japanese farmers. Well, even though we analyze the issues of the agriculture in Japan, there is little thing we can do to change these facts. On the other hand, regarding developing countries, there is a lot we can do. Since the labor fee of the developing countries is pretty low at first, if the farmers can grow some high-value-added-products, their life will be several times as good as the present life. The focus AGRIBUDDY is aiming at exists in these facts.

Well, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to write such a long blog. Anyway, let me say hello to everyone in Hanoi and I would appreciate if all of you could accept and take care of me starting from today.

The border of the land and the boarder of the nation

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In Cambodia, where border lines of lands are very unclear compared to Japan, it is not a surprise that our neighbors ignore the border of the land. They intrude into our land more than dozens of meters and start to grow their crops without our permission. Of course as soon as we find out, we report it to the local leader, then we pull the crops out and put the stakes, which were moved by the neighbors without notice, back to the original position. Sometimes we have very disquiet in the air with everyone who is on the spot.

No one wants to have any trouble, of course. However, we should avoid the fact that someone trespasses and intrude into your property without any permission for no reasons. Fortunately, there is no huge trouble yet since all of us are just civilians with no weapons. Protecting your property is normal, so I am pretty sure that there are few people who feel sense of discomfort to protect own property from others.

However, if you have your own house and lands across or face to the international border and you can have a trouble with neighbors such as easily. Then, it is a totally different story and it is not as easy as the normal trouble. Well, first of all, we need to understand the border of your neighbor’s land is the actual international border as well. Therefore, if something happens, even it is a tiny happening, the situation could be serious as the soldiers with machineguns get together to ready for a war.

The police of your own country or the local government leaders are useless at this kind of situation. The neighbors are deadly serious and insist, “You are the one who cross the border and intrude into our land without any permission”, and the soldiers are already here and ready to kill you with no hesitation. So again, what the police or the government leaders can do for you under this situation?

Since all the border lines of Japan are located at sea, no one in Japan has the situation, which is that “the border line of your property” is the same as the international border line. However, in this Cambodia (their neighbor, Vietnam as well), there are many farmers who owns their land at the very delicate areas.

Both of the government of Cambodia and Vietnam, who focus on the piece and the economic development most importantly, are working very closely (it is said that the government of Cambodia is the puppet regime of the government of Vietnam). However, at this moment, even between Cambodia and Vietnam, a fragile and a touch-and-go situation occurs daily basis.

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Cambodian farmers face to Vietnam solders at a border area (Source Voice of America)
http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/clash-vietnam-cambodia-border/2845262.html

cambodia-vietnam-border-clashes
Right ; Cambodian. Left ; Vietnamese (Source International Business Times)
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/clashes-between-authorities-civilians-vietnam-cambodian-border-leave-dozens-injured-1508879

I don’t know whose affirmation is correct. Unfortunately, only one of them is correct, not both. If one of the affirmations is correct, that means the other one is completely wrong without any doubts, which automatically means that they just come and steal other’s property intentionally. Like my neighbors, there are many people who lives with a shameless rule, such as the “first-come, first-served” rule, and they think it is lucky if their neighbors don’t complain. The number of people those who live with this way is definitely bigger than we expect, that is very unfortunate.

I am definitely against wars and I definitely don’t want to kill anyone or be killed by someone. I rather think we don’t need any international borders. Furthermore, I also think that possessing own nationals and own lands is the biggest cause which sets up complicated issues. However, if I apply the same logic to a smaller scale, like my family and my friends, I would protect my own property if someone tries to steal it intentionally and illegally. Yes, I would do it even though they threatened me by violence.

Of course in Cambodia, there is a law to protect individual assets. There is also the judicial branch of the government (it is kind of bullshit though) to enforce it. Also, among the nationals, there are organizations, such as the International Court of Justice and United Nation, to declare the rules of what we can do or cannot do. However, on the other hand, it is also true that the number of the people those who ignore the rules and start illegal things with a thought of “it is lucky if no one say anything” or “I don’t care whoever says whatever”, is getting bigger endlessly.

Although it is egregiousness that we start to set the illegal actions, it is just a fantasy to think “if we don’t do anything, they won’t do anything either”. That is why thinking what we should do for the best when someone sets up something nasty to us is an assignment we need to think about all the time.

Well, it is said that the Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote a letter to the President Obama to ask his help to prove the legitimacy of Cambodia by using the map of the border line negotiated in 1963. Well, we will see what will happen.

Increase of milk cow in Vietnam.

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The other day I met Mr. Ichikawa who does agriculture in Hanoi. Base company of his business is West Development Agriculture which is the largest company in Japan with large scale farming. Currently Mr. Ichikawa works as resident officer in Vietnam and working at around the north of the country to start mass rice farming project. Well, but even they say “the largest in Japan”, it is 600 hectares. In here, we say “well, anyway let’s try with 100 at the beginning”. I guess there is a bit of gap when they say large and when we say large in Cambodia.

Then, Mr. Ichikawa told me something interesting. Export of milk cow is increasing in Vietnam. Vietnamese were not drinking milk but they start drinking it suddenly and domestic produce can not keep up with the demand now. So they import a milk a lot. But of course domestic product is an ideal, so number of companies are start importing cows by bulk.

I actually have been studying the relationship of GPD/population and meat consumption for a while. And well, if I just wrap it up that the conclusion is that “If people become kinda rich, they start to eat a meat”. But when we I say “kinda rich” means that the people who could be out of poverty and with the GDP of 5,000USD to 20,000USD. In rapid growing Asian region, most of the countries will be in this zone in next 10 years. So, thinking only about Asia, some big change is coming soon.

Population of Asia is 3.6 billion by the way. Meat consumption of us, the Asians, are 27 kg / person a year (Only Japanese which has high GDP would be 48kg). Asian population are estimated to reach 4.5 billion and meat consumption are estimated to be 35 kg.

3.6 billion population X 27 kg of meat will expand to 4.5 billion X 35 kg. This must give a significant impact.

And of course we are eating “live stocks” but those live stocks are eating feed grains. Simply saying, we are in fact converting feed grains into meat and then eating them. Then this conversion efficiency is extremely low.

1kg of beef = 11kg of corns

1kg of pork = 7kg of corns

1kg of chicken = 4kg of corns

Until now, such low in efficiency luxury was only for the people in developed countries. For example, if we do not use corns as feed grains to produce meat that consumes in the U.S, we can feed 800 million people. Raising a meat (I mean cow or pork, you know.) cost a lot. So, we are indulging ourselves in such a luxury of eating a meat and now it will be not only for someone but for everyone on earth. This is the new era we will be living.

When I heard about Vietnam from Mr. Ichikawa, I give myself a compliment and say “See? my hypothesis of when citizen becomes rich enough, way of food consumption dramatically changes and increase a number of live stocks was right!”. And then, rapid increase of number of milk cow means that there will be a sudden increase of demand for feed grains. Regard to this I as well have been thinking and have some hypothesis but it will be too long, so I will tell you next time.