January 1, 2025 (Holiday)
New Year's Greetings Junichi Fukase, Chairman of the Hokuryu Land Improvement District
Message
Happy New Year!
We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our members for welcoming the New Year with their families in good health. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued understanding and cooperation in the operation, maintenance, and promotion of the Land Improvement District.
Regarding the state of rice last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced that the crop condition index was 103, which was "slightly good." Although there was a temporary lack of sunlight from late May to early June, the high temperatures and abundant sunlight thereafter led to good growing conditions. The selling price of rice has risen, but the prices of fertilizer and fuel, which are essential for rice cultivation, have also tended to remain high in recent years, and in order to maintain stable production, we have no choice but to reflect the increased costs in the selling price. The situation surrounding agriculture remains difficult, but we hope that the amendment to the "Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas" will allow new farmers and other farmers to continue farming with peace of mind, and that the future of agriculture in Japan will be bright.
On July 17th of last year, a water leakage accident occurred in the national water supply main irrigation channel in Numata Town. Because the accident occurred during the water supply period, we were busy with water trucks and small pumps to pump water into each field, and temporary repair work was done on the damaged irrigation channel. However, we received a great deal of cooperation from the Sapporo Development and Construction Department, the Sorachi General Bureau, Hokuryu Town Office, the Hokuryu Construction Industry Association, and other related organizations, which enabled us to proceed with the smooth response, and for that we are extremely grateful. We would also like to sincerely apologize to all our members for the great concern and inconvenience caused. In order to thoroughly prevent recurrence, we plan to continue our investigation in cooperation with related organizations.
In the Hokkaido Land Improvement Project, we have completed the Hokuryu Minami 2 District and are working on the continuation of the Hokuryu Minami 1 District. With little rain in the weather, the project, including the summer construction, went smoothly and we believe we were able to complete a beautiful construction. We have also decided to adopt the new Iinotsu 2 District, so we will begin surveying and other work.
Finally, this year too, we will continue to work hard with the cooperation of the town government and other related organizations to promote ongoing projects, efficiently maintain and manage our facilities, and reduce expenses. We ask for your continued guidance and cooperation.
We hope that this year will be the best year for all our members and that we will have an even more bountiful harvest in the fall. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy new year.
＜Excerpt from "Hokuryu Public Relations" January 2025 issue, No. 713＞
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