information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
13 Avril 2013
April 12, 2013
Fukushima farmers to grow 1st rice since accident
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130412_27.html
Farmers in a town in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, are preparing to plant their first rice since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 2 years ago.
An agricultural corporation in Hirono Town started planting rice early this week. Seeds planted on Monday already have 2-centimeter shoots.
Local farmers were unable to grow rice in the past 2 years because the town asked them not to because of concerns about radioactive contamination.
The town planted rice on an experimental basis last year and confirmed that its radiation levels were below the government limit.
Rice planting is scheduled for early May in about half of the town's 210 hectares of paddies.
The head of the corporation, Yoshiyuki Haga, said finally growing rice again means getting their hometown back, so he wants to plant more.
About 5,200 residents of the town evacuated after the nuclear accident. Only around 10 percent have returned.
Agriculture used to be the town's key industry. Town officials hope that resuming rice farming will help speed up post-disaster reconstruction.
/https%3A%2F%2Fassets.over-blog.com%2Ft%2Fcedistic%2Fcamera.png)