October 26, 2010

Feed rice boosts Japanese feed's self-sufficiency

Raising chickens and pigs on domestic feed rice helps increase Japan's self-sufficiency in feed.

The rice omelette in one restaurant in Tsukuba, Japan is white in contrast to a more common yellow colour. The pale colour is because the hens that laid the eggs for the omelette were fed rice instead of corn in their ration, causing the egg yolk to turn pale.

The eggs used at the restaurant are produced on the farm of Seiyo Obata. Two years ago, when prices of imported corn soared, he began using locally produced rice with husks for feed. The egg-laying rates on his farm have not changed, and consumers have praised the eggs as having a light, delicious flavour. Obata's eggs are also sold in Tokyo, through the consumer cooperative Tohto Co-op, under a branded name. A pack of six eggs is priced at EUR1.75 (JPY198; US$2.44).

Despite the comparatively high price of eggs from chickens fed with rice, there have been successful attempts to develop more local brands. Given their success, more chicken farms are likely to use feed rice in the future.

Pork from pigs fed with feed rice has also appeared. For example, Pork Land Group, a pig farming company, has sold pork from pigs that ate feed rice for two years. Sales of the pork have been increasing and consumers say the meat is chewy and delicious. This year, the company plans to ship meat from 18,000 pigs, five times the amount last year. The pork costs about EUR0.90 (JPY100; US$1.26) more per kg than other pork sold by the co-op.

The increasing use of feed rice is expected to raise Japan's self-sufficiency in food. About 90% of the feed ingredients for the chickens are imported. Seiji Nobuoka, an associate professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture says, "The Japanese livestock industry's most important task is to escape from its reliance on imported feed. I want consumers to understand the significance of introducing rice as livestock feed."

Rice can be good substitute to corn in terms of chemical composition. It lacks a bit of protein, but has higher values for calcium and phosphorous compared with corn. The variety of rice grown as animal feed in Japan differs from that produced for human consumption.

Although animal feed rice tastes too dried-out and unpleasant for people to enjoy, it takes less care and trouble to grow it. This means feed rice is a high-yielding variety. According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, 1,611 hectares were planted with feed rice in 2008, a sharp increase from 292 hectares in 2007. The figure was expected to reach 4,129 hectares in 2009.

Producing rice for animal feed is attracting farmers' interest recently due to soaring prices of imported feeds. The production increase has also been boosted by a subsidy system introduced this fiscal year by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government to improve the nation's self-sufficiency in food through efficient use of rice paddies.