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Tsunami-devastated farmers from Fukishima in Japan have made NorthQueensland the home for a new source of Japanese-produced rice andare celebrating the harvesting of their first crop. The initialtrials have proven very successful. Producers from the city of Iwaki have been conducting arice-growing trial in the richly-irrigated Burdekin River Valley,around the Ayr Research Station of the Australian Government sDepartment of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The schemeis aiming to create a new rice industry in Queensland whilstproviding an alternative location for growing the Japanese foodstaple. It is now more than a year since Japanese farming land in theFukishima prefecture was inundated by salt water and tainted byradiation fall-out. DAFF s regional agribusiness development manager, Gareth Jones,said the trial used traditional rice-paddies and had been fundedthrough a AU$20,000 Food Connect grant from the AustralianGovernment. "It's no exaggeration to say that when this projectstarted, the Japanese delegation felt they were planting seeds ofhope for the future," Mr Jones said. "Their grief is still apparent and comes from knowing theirland is literally unusable for food crops for many years to comebecause of the radiation effects from the failed Fukushimaplant," he said. The farmers have planted the Kochi variety which is the one mostfavoured by Japanese consumers, and used traditional growingmethods such as flood irrigation, hand planting and few pesticidesor chemicals. While ultimately their aim is to export large amounts of rice backto Japan, any success would also benefit the Burdekin regionthrough crop diversification and through the intention of theJapanese to lease land from local landholders. Currently, theBurdekin area is renown as a sugar-cane growing region. The head of the Japanese delegation, Iwaki Warld Tambo Projectdirector Takemi Shirado, said the first harvest was expected toreap about 30kg of rice, with the next stage being theall-important taste test. "We'll be taking the first of the harvested rice backto Japan next month so other members of our farming co-operativecan consider whether it meets our requirements," he said. "We will also use a flavour measurement machine to see if itis equal or even better than the rice we grow in Japan, he said. If the project succeeds, the Japanese hope to build up supplies ofseed, and to export the rice to Japan to help feed residents of thehard-hit prefecture of Fukushima. More than 20,000 rice-producers living in and around Fukushima sawtheir agricultural land devastated by the 2011 earthquake and thesubsequent tsunami and radiation exposure. The Japanese delegation selected the Burdekin region as a trialsite after visits facilitated by Townsville Sister City programcoordinator Susan Roberts. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China PPGL Coil , China Corrugated Steel Sheet, and more. For more , please visit Hot Dip Galvanized Steel Coil today!
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