Endangered Tradition: Plum Farmer’s are in Danger of Disappearing of Japan’s Rich Plum Culture at Roadside Stations

As for having a dedicated cooking area, I think there is no way around it, because with residences, people may have pets, and hygiene standards depend on their sensitivities.

However, the problem is that the majority of people making pickles are basically elderly people in their 70s or older.

Even among such people, for example, in the case of pickled plums, in Wakayama Prefecture, there are basically only full-time plum farmers, so many people are willing to invest in equipment, but outside of Wakayama, there are very few people who are doing it as a full-time job.

Under such circumstances, changing equipment would cost at least 1.5 million yen.

It would be very difficult for elderly people to spend 1.5 million yen for equipment investment and make a profit from it. In fact, I have talked to some businesses in Aichi, and they are all in the mood to give up.

Amid such a situation, the “Ume Boys” also receive inquiries from other prefectures, asking if they can send plums to be processed. Rather than going out of business completely, some are considering giving up manufacturing and connecting with ume farmers in Wakayama in the form of ume shipments, but there is also the problem of shipping costs.

I thought that if we invested in the equipment and set up the water supply, we could make it available to all the ume growers.

In fact, there are so many varieties of ume in Japan, including those in Niigata, Mie, and Aichi, that there are ume-growing regions that are completely unknown throughout the country.

If no one invests in facilities, the ume production area and culture of that area will disappear. It would be a problem if the pickles and culture of the producing area were to disappear.”

However, with the mood of resignation prevailing in the industry due to the large number of elderly people, Mr. Yamamoto says he thought, “We have no choice but to do something about it in accordance with the law. What we are doing now,” he says, “is to establish manufacturing facilities in each region that can be used by everyone.

Many of the farmers who have been denied permission due to a lack of equipment because of the revised law plan to continue growing plums and shipping them fresh to JA and other retailers.

If that is the case, the existing facilities will probably become available, so we are planning to install such facilities for 1.5 or 2 million yen, and then turn them into a processing plant after only the water supply has been installed.

There must be farmers who have large warehouses, so if we invest in the facilities, set up only the water supply, and make it a form of joint management, everyone will be able to use it.

We will then work with them to find sales channels and so on. There is also the issue of shipping costs, so if you have a certain amount of facilities, I think it would be best to do the processing at your own place.