New Farmer's "Island-Wide Paradise Plan"

From the ferry off the Shinkansen Mihara Station, it is 15 minutes to Sagishima, a remote island in the Seto Inland Sea. The island belongs to Mihara City, the gateway to Hiroshima Prefecture.

Although the accessibility is good, the island is full of old men and women. As it should be, the island has a super-aging population, with two out of every three residents being elderly. (currently 71.08%)

The main industry is agriculture, mainly growing citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges, and melons. The island is truly rich in nature, partly due to the mild climate of the Seto Inland Sea.
It is a laid-back island where you forget the sense of time with no sound except for the distant sounds of the wind and tide.

However, it is slowly losing its vitality; the middle school was closed more than a decade ago, and the number of young people is dwindling, especially among the younger generation.

In this aging population of Sagishima, a man has risen up to revitalize the island through agriculture. His name isKanji ObataHe is also over 65 years old. He, too, is over 65 years old.

My wife's family lives in Sagishima, and we have been associated with this island for over 40 years.
Let us show you what we thought and stood up for.

　

Kanji Obata worked at a shipyard in Mihara more than 40 years ago.

At that time, computers were still a rarity. Obata encountered IBM computers in his work and, while immersed in their fascination, began to wonder if he could do business with them himself.

Then an opportunity presented itself. The owner of a shipyard gave me the opportunity to start my own company as a subsidiary of the computer division. I was asked to create a company and conduct computer system sales with a single Corolla.

It was around this time that I married my then wife and we had a child. I was very busy with work and family, but on weekends in winter, I helped my wife at her mandarin orchard in Sagishima.

I took my young child on a mini-trolley for harvesting the mandarin oranges, and the child was so cute and excited, saying, "It's like a ride at an amusement park," and by the time we returned home, he was tired from playing and was asleep. In the midst of our hectic days, Sagishibe's family time was very rich.

Obata's company also performed well, but the parent shipbuilding company, which had invested in the company, was caught in the shipbuilding recession and was absorbed by Imabari Shipbuilding. At this time, Kobatake repaid the favor by purchasing shares in the company, and using the development of computer systems as a foothold, he developed his own management style to meet the changing times and needs of the company.

With the network-based business system, the construction of a regional broadcasting system, and the capital, the company diversified its management by entering the fitness franchise and the hotel business. Any business,Experienced manager" who is convinced that management can be successfully managed if the key points are firmly grasped.The company is now in the process of

It feels like my life as a business manager has gone by so fast. While he was feeling that way, Kobatake's wife passed away due to illness.

In the time when my heart is empty, I am reminded of that time when I was in contact with nature, even though I was busy until Sagishibe.

When I met with my wife's brother (brother-in-law) in Sagishima, this topic came up.
I've got a contractor who wants to put solar panels on my parents' field in Sagishima and the fields around it, what do you think?"

When Obata imagined placing the panels on the land of memories, he felt a bit sad.

'Solar is kinda ruining the landscape, isn't it? How much is a field, brother-in-law? If the price is that high, I'm thinking of doing some farming.

At first I was only half joking, but strangely enough, from the day I said it out loud, my heart began to move faster and faster.
　

It all started with the question, "What can we do if we buy a farm in Sagishima?" The answer to this question came to me in a vague way,I hope that farming will bring people together and bring smiles to their faces."The image of the "I".

How can we make it happen? That remains to be seen, but the image of the future that Obata wants to achieve is becoming clearer and clearer. Maybe the day I jokingly said, "Shall we buy a farm? The veteran businessman's farming project may have begun on the day he jokingly said, "I'll buy a farm.

The image of "Okay, let's do something fun by combining agriculture and business management" is suddenly transformed into energy. Hurry up and do what you can. Otaba's motto is to take immediate action on everything.

He immediately tells his brother-in-law that he wants to buy a field in Sagishima and gives it up. But he is also convinced that it is okay.

From there, the veteran manager's sense of what to make and how to make it comes into play. How should we make it? The process of meeting people and trial and error begins.

Then one day, through an introduction from the bank, he met an employee of the Agricultural Technology Center of Hiroshima Prefecture. The Agricultural Technology Center of Hiroshima Prefecture is establishing a smart farming method for asparagus with high productivity and high yield. It is being introduced on a demonstration scale, and we plan to support its introduction in the future."

After listening to the enthusiastic explanations of the staff member and thinking things over, a road map begins to form in Kobatake's mind. Above all, this young staff member was enthusiastic and trustworthy. Obata's intuition told him to go with it.

Let's practice smart farming asparagus together." I look forward to working with you. I'm new to farming, but I need your guidance."

From here, the new farmer's paradise plan is accelerated. He established a corporation, prepared a business plan, and also obtained certification from the city for the Certified Farmer Program. After receiving the loan, they erected plastic greenhouses on their land in Sagishima and planted asparagus seedlings. When cultivation began, Kobatake gradually began to feel a real sense of farming.

Then, as the harvest approaches, we now need more manpower. The first people I asked were my brother-in-law and his acquaintances, grandfathers and grandmothers.

It was a great feeling when about five of us gathered to harvest, sort, and bag the asparagus for the first time. It was nice to have work and to be able to get together on the island. I would like to develop this further.

Grandparents gather in a plastic greenhouse in Sagishima every day to harvest asparagus. At lunchtime, they eat lunch boxes and rice balls in the work shed, and have a good time talking about the old days and other casual topics. Sometimes they even have planning meetings.

I'm sure it will be a great experience for the children to do the harvesting."
I bet it would be delicious as asparagus on a skewer."
There's a place that makes asparagus ice cream.

The vague image that inspired me to start farming was "a community where people gather and smile all the time in Sagishima. First of all, it has gradually taken shape as a place for exchange while working with the elderly.

Scenery of work in progress

What we want to do next is to get young people to come. If that is the case, how about offering a variety of experiences to encourage them to come as tourists? From the perspective of having fun, how about a farming experience centering on asparagus, or camping for parents and children?Obata and his friends have endless ideas.

The island will satisfy tourists and provide a place for grandparents to work and a community. The veteran manager's vision of "a community where people gather and smiles never cease" is now taking shape as the "New Farmer's Plan for a Whole Island Paradise.

Prototype asparagus ice cream