Michiaki Omura

The Agri-Reconstruction Project and Rapeseed Project for Restoring Tsunami-Salt-Damaged Farmland After the GEJE – An Institutional Effort

The Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, launched an Agri-Reconstruction Project in 2011 immediately after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake disaster, and this continues to date. The project’s objective is to support the agricultural, forestry and fisheries reconstruction process in the tsunami disaster area. The activities have been implemented through more than 40 research projects along the Tohoku region including the Rapeseed Project for Restoring Tsunami-Salt-Damaged Farmland.

Tohoku University Rapeseed Project for Restoring Tsunami-Salt-Damaged Farmland: Was the Wisdom of Agricultural Science Utilized for the Restoration?

Five years have passed since the triple disaster of the March 2011 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and radioactive pollution from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Along the coastline of Tohoku region, one of Japan’s most important agricultural areas, activities to revive farmland that suffered salt damage due to the tsunami are still continuing to this day. This chapter documents the current state of recovery of the farmland and agriculture, the work being carried out by the Tohoku University Rapeseed Project for Restoring Tsunami-Salt-Damaged Farmland that was initiated in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake disaster, and the future vision for the project.