Ryoji Kikura receives the Honorary Citizen Award: Words of gratitude from Ryoji Kikura: "Food is life. Hokuryu Town protects and nurtures life, food, the environment, and lifestyles." [Hokuryu Public Relations]

Friday, January 6, 2023

We would like to introduce the article "Mr. Ryoji Kikura receives Honorary Citizen Award" that was published in the January 2023 issue (No. 689) of "Hokuryu Public Relations."

Ryoji Kikura receives the Honorary Citizen Award

With the consent of the town council at the third regular session of 2022, the title of honorary citizen was awarded to Ryoji Kikura, former representative director and chairman of Kitasorachi Agricultural Cooperative, who has worked hard to develop agriculture in Hokuryu Town as a leading figure in clean agriculture. A ceremony to award Mr. Kikura as an honorary citizen was held on December 8th, prior to the fourth regular session of the Hokuryu Town Council of 2022. Below is a message of gratitude from Mr. Kikura upon receiving the award.

　
Food is life. "Protecting and nurturing life, food, the environment, and lifestyles" Hokuryu Town

I am grateful to have been named an honorary citizen of Hokuryu Town. I will never forget that the main players are the members of the association and the townspeople. I have treasured the teachings of Goto Hachio and his son Toru, and have worked hard and put into practice as a farmer for 67 years.

Mr. Goto's teachings were the following three points:

• Work, learn, read
• Soon there will be a shortage of safe food, so we need to take action to address this.
• As a person and as an agricultural cooperative official, do not seek status, fame, or money.

In 1973, Toru and I met and learned from pioneers of natural farming, and we also visited many advanced farming areas such as Aya Town in Miyazaki Prefecture, Daisen Town in Oita Prefecture, Takahata Town in Yamagata Prefecture, and Mikazuki Town in Saga Prefecture to learn more.

Knowing how difficult it would be for the town to work together as one, Hokuryu decided to take on the challenge as a town, and made enthusiastic appeals to various organizations. First, on May 1, 1990, the agricultural cooperative confirmed its commitment to "protecting and nurturing life, food, the environment, and livelihoods." On October 26, 1990, the agricultural committee established a charter stating that it would "strive to produce safe food for humans." On November 2, 1990, the land improvement district passed a general meeting resolution stating that it wanted to be "a fertile rural area with a rich environment."

On December 18, 1990, Hokuryu Town and the Hokuryu Town Council passed a resolution to make Hokuryu Town "a town of safe food production that protects the lives and health of its citizens," and has been implementing the first safe food production initiatives in the country for 33 years to date.

Global warming countermeasures to protect the future of the Earth are based on the perspective of "protecting the lives of children." Hokuryu Town aims to create a safe and bright society free from war and disasters, and will continue to proudly practice safer food production by making "2 million sunflowers" bloom. Thank you.
　

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