A Japanese company lease 1500 acres for 20 year in Laiyang, Shandong province, for planting and feeding cattle. They aimed at China’s high-end market, and produce high-quality agricultural products.
However, the Japanese company has not profitable. In five years, it has become the laughing stock of local farmers.
In 2006, the Asahi Green Company was jointly venture and established by Japan’s Asahi Breweries, Itochu and Sumitomo Chemical. This is the first time for the three world’s top companies to engage in agriculture.
They believe that agriculture will eventually return to their traditional path. The farming mode, relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is short-sighted behavior.
For the five years, the farming methods of the Asahi Green Source Company insist on no fertilizing, no pesticide using, not even weeding. The output of an acre only is half of the local level.
The company’s behavior makes the local famers distressed.
Given to the company’s farming attitude, some people began to doubt the Japanese’ lease motivation. Some villagers said that the Japanese lease the land to search for minerals. And even someone said Japan plan to build a food base for the country, it is an “enclosure”.
But the company believes that China will trust our brand and production one day.
Source: Beijing News
Translated and edited by Ma Xin
Ma Xin is an editor of M4.cn and can be reached at tomaxin@163.com.