Thursday, June 5, 2024
On Monday, June 3rd, we spoke with new farmers Kosuke Sato (47 years old) and Tomomi Sato (47 years old), who started farming sunflower watermelons in Hokuryu Town in 2021.
Masao Fujisaki, who is in charge of the secretariat of the Hokuryu Town Farmland and Water Activity Organization (Chairman: Akimitsu Takada), introduced us to the wonderful new farmers who are working hard and energetically in Hokuryu Town.
- 1 New farmers Kosuke and Tomomi Sato
- 1.1 The extremely busy life of a salaryman
- 1.2 Choosing agriculture as self-employment
- 1.3 My connection with Hokuryu Town began at the New Farmers Fair
- 1.4 The deciding factor in choosing a farming site was the enthusiasm and personality of the person in charge
- 1.5 Sunflower Watermelon Association's Toshinari Watanabe (then head of the association) became independent after two years of training at a farm.
- 1.6 Thoughts on Hokuryu Town after moving there four years ago
- 1.7 It's hard, but it's easier than when I was a salaryman.
- 1.8 Information on new farmers is gathered online
- 1.9 Get your business on track to generate savings
- 1.10 Failure is the mother of success! Turn a crisis into an opportunity!
- 2 Sato Farm's facilities
- 3 Other photos
- 4 Related articles
New farmers Kosuke and Tomomi Sato
The extremely busy life of a salaryman
Kosuke Sato is originally from Yakumo Town. Previously, he was a store supervisor for a company that operates a large chain of restaurants nationwide. Although he lives in Sapporo, he was busy traveling around the country (Saitama Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, etc.) due to his work assignment.
While living such a busy life as a businessman, I began to want to do work where I could think for myself and have my ideas reflected back to me, rather than just completing the tasks that were given to me.
Choosing agriculture as self-employment
So, he began to think about what he could do on his own. After doing some research, he discovered that agriculture is an industry that offers generous support for self-employed people, including subsidies from the government. So, where is the best place to start farming? Sato thoroughly researched the new farming systems in various parts of Japan.
As Sato-san has relatives living in Hokkaido, he narrowed his search to the agricultural systems in Hokkaido. Among them, Hokuryu Town offered the most support for new farmers.
An example of a support system: Hokuryu Town's farming support system
- Housing rent subsidy (in training):Half of the rent will be subsidized (up to 10,000 yen)
- Financial support grants:Subsidies equivalent to the fixed asset tax on acquired agricultural land, etc.
- Economic Independence Stabilization Subsidy:1/10 of the borrowed funds will be subsidized for five years from the year following the loan (up to a maximum of 2.5 million yen)
- Interest Subsidy:Interest on borrowed funds will be paid for five years (up to 20 million yen, for loans with interest exceeding 2%)
- Housing repair subsidies:Subsidies will cover one-fifth of the costs of repairing, expanding, or renovating a purchased home (up to a maximum of 2.5 million yen).
- House Subsidy Program:80% subsidy for the cost of installing greenhouses for melon and watermelon cultivation (JA 50% + Hokuryu Town 30%)
Related articlesUnable to retrieve page information.
My connection with Hokuryu Town began at the New Farmers Fair
Sato visited the New Farmers Fair held in Sapporo in 2021.
Each city and town in Hokkaido has its own unique support system for new farmers, so Sato did some research in advance and narrowed down his options before attending the New Farmers Fair.
When I visited the Hokuryu Town booth, I met the person in charge, Mr. Kenichi Sakuraba, a new farming promoter, and Mr. Toshinari Watanabe (then head of the Hokuryu Town Sunflower and Watermelon Association), and we had a detailed talk about relocation and new farming.
Sensing their enthusiasm and personalities, we ultimately decided to move to Hokuryu Town, and visited the town the following week.
The deciding factor in choosing a farming site was the enthusiasm and personality of the person in charge
"The final deciding factor was that although the subsidy was an important factor, I realized that the most important thing in working together was to place emphasis on the personality of the person who would be supporting me. In that respect, I still think it was a good decision.
I am grateful to my supervisor, Sakuraba-san, for being so kind and giving me advice on various matters.
The people at the Sunflower and Watermelon Association were also really kind. It was our first year and we didn't know what to do, but they helped us in various situations and were always happy to answer any questions we had.
This year marks my second year since going independent. I'm still inexperienced and make a lot of mistakes, but the guidance and support of the people around me has helped me out," says Sato.
When we asked his wife, Tomomi, about her thoughts on the changes in her lifestyle, she said,
"When my husband was working as a businessman, I was by his side and keenly aware of how difficult it was. We don't have any children, so I decided that if he wanted to do farming, I would give it a try.
Of course, I had no experience in farming before, so at first I wasn't planning on helping out much (laughs), but after actually trying it, I realized that it couldn't run without two people, so I help out from morning until night.
"I'm trying to overcome the difficulties through trial and error, even though I make mistakes. Even when I make mistakes, the people around me are always there to teach me various ways to deal with the situation, which I'm grateful for," said Tomomi with a calm expression.
Sunflower Watermelon Association's Toshinari Watanabe (then head of the association) became independent after two years of training at a farm.
The Sato couple moved to Hokuryu Town immediately after the New Farmers Fair. They received training for two years at the farm of Watanabe Toshinari of the Sunflower Watermelon Association, and became independent in April 2023 and started cultivating watermelons on their current farm.
In the first year, the crops were grown in four greenhouses, but this year two more have been added, making a total of six greenhouses (four 100m greenhouses and two 90m greenhouses).
They have planted about 200 plants in each of their six greenhouses, and the couple has plenty of time to raise about 1,400 to 1,500 cuttings.
Thoughts on Hokuryu Town after moving there four years ago
"Hokuryu Town is a very comfortable place to live. I lived in Sapporo for a long time, but there were so many people and cars that I felt tired of the environment. Even when I occasionally go to Sapporo for business, I somehow feel uneasy.
The people here in the Wa district are very kind. We have a very good relationship with our neighbors, who invite us to barbecues and always talk to us. We are very grateful for their consideration and help.
"I had heard that moving here would be quite difficult, but the townspeople are all so kind, so it was easy for me to settle in and get used to the area," says Sato, who is grateful for the kindness and generosity of the townspeople.
"In urban environments, there are a lot of people, you don't know who your neighbors are, and you have to be careful about noise even inside the house.
However, here in Hokuryu Town, we have been given a large farm field, a house, and a warehouse (a farm storehouse), providing an environment where we can fully carry out farm work in the great outdoors.
"It's nice here because I don't have to worry about the TV or how loud I am. The air is fresh and I feel comfortable," says Tomomi.
"The hardest thing about moving here was cultivation. No matter how much you think about it, when you actually cultivate, you're dealing with nature, so things can sometimes turn out differently than you expected.
I still don't have the skills, so I think I'll just have to learn as I make mistakes. It's still difficult, but I'm working hard to become a full-fledged professional as soon as possible!" says Sato.
It's hard, but it's easier than when I was a salaryman.
"I wake up at 4am and work until about 7pm. I can do things the way I want to, so it's easier than when I was an office worker.
During the winter, when the busy farming season is over, we travel around the country, which is something we love. Traveling is a hobby for both my husband and I, so when I was working as a salaryman, we would travel all over the country on our days off.
Here, I am so busy farming that I don't have time to spend money, so I am able to get by on my current income.
Considering my future retirement, I would like to build more greenhouses and save more," says Sato.
Information on new farmers is gathered online
"I collected information about new farmers by searching the internet.
Some municipalities have detailed pages on their websites about starting a farm, but there are also many websites where it is difficult to find information.
In this regard, Hokuryu Town provides easy-to-understand information about starting a new farm.
In gathering information, the thing I looked for most was the issue of costs. Starting a farm requires a lot of capital and expenses. I also focused on how the training system was handled and what kind of training was available."
❂ Melon and watermelon farming support (agricultural trainees) Regional revitalization cooperation team [Hokuryu Town website]
Get your business on track to generate savings
"When starting farming, it is important to be able to visualize how much income you will earn and what kind of lifestyle you will be able to lead. It would be extremely helpful if such information could be made clear on the Internet.
Leaving your life as a salaryman and jumping into farming requires a great deal of determination, so I think it's very important to be able to visualize your future.
There are very few municipalities that disclose information about future income. Those that do are popular and concentrated. For example, Biratori Town discloses plans such as expenses and income, making it easy to imagine what your future life will be like.
Some municipalities do not disclose information such as income and only provide an explanation of the subsidy system.
For people gathering information to get into agriculture for the first time, I think the most important thing is information that helps them imagine what their life will be like in the end.
Also, if you decide on the produce you want to grow from the start, the number of municipalities where that produce is a local specialty will be limited. This narrows your options, making it difficult to get into farming," says Sato.
When Sato first began considering starting a farm, he considered rice farming, but decided that the initial investment would be too large and therefore not feasible.
"When I thought about my future life over a 10- to 15-year span, I felt I should choose something that would be profitable and allow me to save a little for my retirement. I imagined a farming plan that would allow me to recover my initial investment in two to three years and get the business on track to start using the money for savings."
Ultimately, Mr. and Mrs. Sato decided to cultivate sunflower watermelons in Hokuryu Town.
Failure is the mother of success! Turn a crisis into an opportunity!
"It's a repeated failure. I think of failure as an initial investment, and if I get depressed every time I fail, I won't be able to move forward, so I turn challenges into opportunities and take on challenges with a positive attitude.
And even difficult work can be fun once you get used to it!
"I feel a deep affection for crops because I grow them like children, watching their growth and growing along with them," says an enthusiastic Sato Kosuke.
Sato Farm's facilities
Automatic greenhouse opening and closing device
The greenhouse windows open and close automatically (by measuring humidity, temperature, and wind). However, since they don't actually move, I use my smartphone as a remote control to open and close them myself.
Electric fence: Powered by a solar system (photovoltaic power generation)
"I've heard of raccoons being caught, but they've never eaten any crops. Deer walk around the area, but they don't come into the greenhouses," says Sato.
Well (12m deep)
As an investment in the second year of independence, he installed a well to prepare for water shortages. He usually uses irrigation water, but when he needs replacement water, he uses the well.
Farming in Hokuryu Town is making the dream of becoming self-employed a reality.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the precious souls of the people of Hokuryu Town who welcome, help, and warmly watch over the new farmers who continue to work tirelessly.
Other photos
Related articles
◇ Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editing assistance: Noboru Terauchi)
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