It appears that about 24,000 hectares of fields used for crops have been washed away, flooded, or severely damaged during the 3/11 earthquake. In Fukushima, as a result of damage to water channels and radiation concerns,. 14,000 hectares cannot be planted this year.
The TPP negotiation process of course has been put on hold. But this disaster is going to make many Japanese rethink the value of Nokyo given the important role the organization is playing in surveying damage and speaking on behalf of farmers to the government.
For example, the JA has formed a focus group which is considering ways to reduce damage to the reputation of agricultural products coming from northeast Japan, ways to seek compensation from the government, and even ways to pressure Tokyo Power to accept some of the damage done to agriculture through radiation.
JA is trying a soft approach which does not involve legal battles. "Damage" is defined in three ways by the group. 1) Products which have been directly prevented from being shipped by radiation, 2) Cases where business has been prevented by customer concerns, falling prices, or voluntary restraint, and 3) damage to reputation. The latter is still under consideration as the group is just in the process of understanding just how the disaster has affected production and making clear what the producer position actually is.
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