Japan to promote farmland leasing in urban areas

August 20, 2017

TOKYO- The Japanese agriculture ministry plans to establish a new system for promoting urban agriculture by facilitating farmland rental, ministry sources said Saturday.

Currently, permissions from municipal agricultural committees are necessary for letting out farmland.

Under the proposed system, municipal governments, instead of the committees, will examine candidate borrowers' land-use plans and give the go-ahead for their rental if the plans include agricultural experience events, supplies of foodstuffs for school meals or other activities that can contribute to local communities.

The ministry will introduce necessary legislation to the Diet by next March, the sources said.

It also plans to request a tax system revision so the farmland leasing will not be subject to inheritance tax payment, they added.

There is a total of some 134 square kilometers of land plots for urban agriculture designated by municipalities across Japan.

Urban farmland has various important roles to play, including supplying fresh food to local communities and providing nearby residents with evacuation space in times of disasters.

However, many urban farmers are faced with the aging problem and lack of successors. Jiji Press