Agriculture, Environment and Health Research Institute develops rice suitable for the Nature Farming Method

“Kumaminori” jointly with farmers practicing the Nature Farming Method

Kumaminori, a new rice cultivar developed jointly by the National Institute of Agriculture, Environment and Health and MOA Nature Farming Method Farmers, has been registered as a national cultivar.

A short video introducing the research by Professor Emeritus Hirokazu Nakai of Shizuoka University (specializing in plant breeding and sustainable model agricultural science) is available on the Institute’s website.
Breeding of rice varieties suitable for cultivation using the Nature Farming Method and its significance today

In 2005, the Institute began crossbreeding different varieties at Ohito Farm in Izunokuni City, Shizuoka Prefecture with Professor Emeritus Nakai to develop rice suitable for cultivation using the Nature Farming Method. Since 2008, with the cooperation of farmers practicing the Nature Farming Method throughout the country, they have worked on breeding by conducting selection tests of different varieties.

Today’s varieties are grown on the premise of using chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides to combat food shortages after World War II so it was not necessarily suitable to produce a variety of rice using the Nature Farming Method.

In addition, in response to the reality that more and more people suffer from allergies to the extent that improvements have been made in search of a chewy texture that many consumers prefer, they have tried to develop light and nutritious rice that used to be the mainstream. It also contains the desire to lead to solutions for both problems of agriculture and people’s health.

“Kumaminori,” which is a hybrid of varieties that have been cultivated for a long time, called native species, has a light texture. It has been found that these varieties tend to reduce the symptoms of rice allergy and atopic dermatitis, and the Institute is proceeding with further investigations and research. At the same time, they are still working on the development of varieties that are suitable for the land in various parts of the country, and there are great expectations.