The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 5 | Issue 1 | Article ID 2337 | Jan 02, 2007

Natural Farming Greening the Deserts: Japanese Farmer-

Philosopher Fukuoka Masanobu

Yoneda Yuriko

Natural Farming Greening the Deserts:

Japanese Farmer-Philosopher Fukuoka
Masanobu

By Yoneda Yuriko

A farming method called 'natural farming'

needs no tilling, no fertilizers, no pesticides,
and no weeding. For about 60 years, Fukuoka
Masanobu, Japan's renowned authority on
natural farming, honed methods based on his
unique theories, insights and philosophy. His
seminal book, "One-Straw Revolution," first
published in 1975, has been translated into
English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and
other languages, and has been read around the
world. The book addresses not only the
practical aspects of natural farming but also
the root causes of environmental deterioration.
Fukuoka's thought and philosophy have
inspired many people worldwide by pointing
out a way of life. Here we introduce his thought
and practices.

One Straw Revolution

Fukuoka was born in 1913 in Iyo, Ehime

Prefecture, in the southern island of Shikoku in
Japan. After graduating from an agricultural
high school, he took a job at the Yokohama
Customs Office. At the age of 25, however, he
was hospitalized with acute pneumonia. The
days spent alone became a turning point in his
life. After leaving the hospital, he continued to

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reflect on matters of life and death. One

morning, a flash of insight came to him: "There
is nothing in this world. No matter what
humans try to do, they can achieve nothing.
Every thought we have and every action we
take is unnecessary." This was the birth of
Fukuoka's philosophy, "the theory of the
uselessness of human knowledge," or the
theory of "mu" (nothingness).

To demonstrate his theories in practical ways,

in 1937 he returned to his native village and
become a farmer at his father's orange orchard.
In 1939, when Japan's situation in World War II Fukuoka Masanobu
began to deteriorate, he started to work at an
agricultural research station in Kochi Natural Farming Based on Spiritual
Prefecture as an instructor and researcher on Philosophy
scientific farming, and continued there until the
end of the war. He returned to Iyo in 1947, and Fukuoka's natural farming method begins with
continued to work on his unique natural the absolute rejection of science. He says in
farming system. one of his books, "My study started with the
rejection of conventional agricultural
When he visited America in 1979 and saw technologies. I absolutely reject science and
California's desertified land, it occurred to him technology. My view is based on the rejection
that his natural farming method would work to of Western philosophy, which supports today's
green these regions. Visiting American science and technology."
communities working on natural farming, he
kept telling people that modern large-scale He continues, "Natural farming, in my mind is,
farming and cattle-raising were causing in fact, not part of so-called scientific
desertification. During one speaking tours, the agriculture. I aim to establish a new farming
head of the United Nations department in method from the perspective of Eastern
charge of combating desertification asked him philosophy, thought, and religion, moving away
for technical advice. This was the starting point from the framework of scientific agriculture."
of Fukuoka's initiative for desert greening all He values not the Western concept, that nature
over the globe: in China, India, the Americas, is for the use of humanity, but the Eastern way,
and Africa. that humans are part of nature. Through
natural "do-nothing" farming he tries to
demonstrate that science is imperfect and
unnecessary.

In another book, "The Road Back to Nature,"

Fukuoka notes, "Dietary abnormality results in
abnormality of the body and mind, and affects
everything. A sound body comes from healthy
food. A sound idea comes from a healthy body."
He considers food the most significant factor in
human life, and he repeatedly uses the Daoist

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or Buddhist term "shindo-fuji" in his books, to the point where my natural farm could yield,
which literally means that body (shin) and earth without any effort, virtually as much rice and
(do) are inseparable (fuji). That is, humans and wheat as typical scientific farms."
the environment are united. When people eat
food in season, grown on the very land where
they live, their bodies can be sound and in
harmony with the environment.

Fukuoka's Natural Farming Method

Currently, most farmers in Japan practice

chemical farming using chemical fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides. Recently, however,
with people paying more and more attention to
food safety, an increasing number of farmers
practice sustainable agriculture, through
reduction of herbicides and pesticides and/or
through the use of organic fertilizers. At
supermarkets and retail stores, consumers are
able to buy agricultural products bearing the
Organic JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard)
logo, certifying that food has been produced in
accordance with international guidelines. JAS
certification is given to agricultural products Fukuoka in the field
from farms which have not used agrichemicals
and chemical fertilizers for more than three Japan For Sustainability Newsletter
years. interviewed Matsumoto Muneo, who has been
attempting Fukuoka-style natural farming in
Is Fukuoka's natural farming just one type of Saitama Prefecture, in the suburbs of Tokyo.
organic farming? Fukuoka rejects scientific According to him, a few farmers are now
farming based on human knowledge. Instead, practicing "natural farming" across Japan. But
he has established a farming method that there is no set definition of natural farming as
requires as little human intervention as each person approaches it in his own way.
possible. Organic farming, in which people Having learned natural farming from Fukuoka,
spread organic fertilizers, is different from they have adapted it to their circumstances.
what he has been aspiring to prove. Fukuoka's natural farming could be described
as the prototype, or at least one of the sources
Fukuoka explains natural farming: "We can of a stream.
make healthy rice, healthy and rich soil that
requires no fertilizer, and have productive soil The principles of Fukuoka-style natural farming
without tilling if we just accept the fact that are no tilling (cultivation), no fertilizers, no
excessive efforts-tilling, application of either pesticides, and no weeding. Although "no
organic, chemical fertilizers, or pesticides-has tilling" may be a difficult concept for ordinary
never been necessary A farming method that farmers to understand, Matsumoto explains
develops the conditions under which people do that "Tilled soil easily dries out." He continues
not have to do anything--this is what I have that the application of fertilizers, including
been pursuing. After thirty years I finally came manure, overprotects plants. By contrast,

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plants without fertilizer can grow to be robust the world. In chemical-based agriculture,
and tasty. Regarding the principle of no petroleum is not just the material used to make
weeding, he cuts weeds when they bloom, fertilizers and pesticides but also the fuel to
instead of pulling them out. And the mowed power cultivation machinery. In contrast,
weeds, laid flat on the ground, keep soil moist natural agriculture requires no cultivators,
in summer and warm in winter; eventually they fertilizers or pesticides. Since it does not
decompose into natural fertilizer. depend on petroleum, it is a more sustainable
form of agriculture.
Moreover, Matsumoto rarely waters the plants
so that the roots search for water and stretch Greening of Deserts with Clay Balls
deep. If water is abundant, he says, plants will
have shallow roots and become weak from Fukuoka's natural rice farming method is a "no-
getting water too easily. tilling, direct sowing, rice-barley double
cropping" system in which rice and barley grow
When seeding, Matsumoto scatters a mixture of in the same field alternately in a year, from
seeds. A plant sprouts only when it best suits seeds sown on non-tilled fields. Knowing that
the place, and thus he cannot anticipate in bare seeds tend to be eaten by birds, Fukuoka
advance what will grow where. To those who came up with the idea of inserting seeds into
do not know better, Fukuoka-style natural clay pellets before sowing them on fields. In
farms may appear to be untended, with plants general, such clayballs are made by (1) mixing
growing randomly. Neighbors often despise clay, water and various kinds of seeds, (2)
such farms, thinking that they look disorderly. removing air bubbles from the mixture as much
In this country, where most farms have as possible, (3) forming small, round balls, and
vegetables growing in neat rows, natural (4) drying them for 3 or 4 days.
farming may be hard to understand for most
people. Clay-coated seeds are prevented from being
eaten by birds or insects and also from drying
An agricultural method that requires no tilling,
up. The globular shape of these clay pellets
no fertilizers, no pesticides and no weeding
makes them hard to break. Clayballs contact
sounds quite easy. But in reality it is not. In his
the ground with a small area where dew is
books Fukuoka stressed repeatedly that the
formed due to differences in daytime and
"natural" in natural farming is different from
nighttime temperatures, which facilitates the
noninterference. Matsumoto elaborates:
rooting of seeds.
"Nature without human intervention just
follows its course automatically. However,
nature once tampered with by humans will not
return easily to its original condition without
human intervention." Restoration of the
original natural conditions is rather difficult to
accomplish and certainly requires expertise.
Fukuoka was able to establish his natural
farming method only through repeated
attempts and failures, eventually returning his
own fields to the natural condition.

The rapidly growing demand for petroleum in

recent years is giving rise to conflicts all over

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Clay coated seeds Humanity cannot live without nature. The

farmer-philosopher Fukuoka has shown us that
Clayballs are especially suited for sowing in natural agriculture allows us to live without the
deserts since they require no watering or aid of technology. We should never forget that
fertilizers in addition to their low-cost nature. it is nature that sustains our lives. Scattering
Fukuoka launched a movement for desert- seeds to bring back nature and agriculture
closer to our daily lives may be one step toward
greening with clayballs, and succeeded in
a sustainable society.
greening activities in Greece, India, Tanzania,
the Philippines, and worldwide. Although
In 1988 Fukuoka received the Deshikottam
Fukuoka is now retired from the movement, Award, India's most prestigious award, and the
activities that he initiated continue in many Philippines' Ramon Magsaysay Award for
countries. Public Service, recognized as Asia's Nobel
prize. In 1997 he received the Earth Council
It takes years before the deserts can be Award, which honors politicians,
transformed into green areas filled with businesspersons, scholars, and non-
germinating seeds, small plants, vegetables and governmental organizations for their
trees. In other words, it is rather easy to contributions to sustainable development.
destroy nature, but restoring nature once lost Today, the 93-year-old Fukuoka has retired
requires tremendous time and energy. from the greening movement, and lives a quiet
life in his home village, Iyo. His fields are now
Bringing Nature Back Into Our Lives closed to the public.

Yoneda Yuriko is staff writer for Japan for

After World War II, Japan has expanded
Sustainability
economically and become a country that
imports materials from all over the world. Even
This article appeared in the Japan for
the food, which is essential for our survival, Sustainability Newsletter
comes from as far away as the other side of the (http://www.japanfs.org/en/newsletter/200605-
planet. Through this change, Japan has 1.html) #45, May 2006.
achieved affluence. On the other hand,
agriculture is now largely detached from the This slightly abbreviated version of the article
lives of most people in this highly technological was published at Japan Focus on January 28,
society. 2007.