Volume 1 - CH 9.4

[next_page]

Kei adds to what I was saying. “It has been used since ancient times as a chemical fertilizer, but earthworms die instantly when it is used.”

“But it makes vegetables much more healthy right?”, said Minori, and Kei nodded.

“The effects of chemical fertilizers are dramatic. That’s exactly why the crops grow in the blink of an eye, and they the yield increases explosively. It has simple ingredients and is quick-acting, making it easier to use than organic fertilizers. But there is a downside.”

“Downside…?”

“It’s foolish to think that the more chemical fertilizers you use, the more the yield will increase”, spits out Kei as if he’s throwing up.

“The owner of this land used a large amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides based on such a thought process, and as a result the yield was fatally reduced.”

“Why…?”

“It’s called Crop Failure. It’s in the textbooks.” When I say this, Ringo silently nods. We studied this together.

If you continue to grow one crop in the same place, it will gradually get sick and stop growing. That’s called recurrence disorder.

The reason is simple. By continuously growing one crop, pathogens and pests that feed on that crop will gather in that place.

“But can recurrence failure be avoided? If you plant another vegetable or let the field rest…?”

“I agree. Farmers here couldn’t do that though. That’s why this was the result.”

“Why?”

“It was for money.”

“Money?”

“It was a subsidy”, Kei explains.

“The ‘Vegetable Production and Shipment Stabilization Act’ was is a system in which a certain amount of vegetables must be shipped every year in exchange for a subsidy if a certain amount are of a certain designated vegetable. This led farmers to grow large quantities of specific vegetables. If you didn’t, then your subsidy would be taken away.”

“So it’s a bad law?”

“I wouldn’t say that Ringo.”

It’s not like that. By no means is that true.

“I could never say that law is bad. Both Minori and I were able to grow to this healthy size thanks to that law”, I respond and Minori nods.

Nowadays, ‘profitable agriculture’ is being spotlighted in various media stories, but the life of most farmers isn’t so glamorous. So the subsidies that can be obtained under laws like this are very helpful for stabilizing the income of the unstable farming industry. You could call it a safety line.

“For us farmers, this law is certainly valuable. But when if we are talking about the impact to the soil… it’s not exactly good.”

In order to get subsidies, no matter what production cannot be reduced. It is out of the question to let the fields rest. Which results in…

“If you continue to grow crops without resting the soil, it goes without saying that the nutrients will be absorbed by the crops and the soil will become depleted. In an attempt to replenish the absorbed nutrients chemical fertilizers were used. When continuous cropping failure was occurring, a larger amount of fertilizer was applied to try to maintain production. But even then diseases and pests occur, and so they tried to suppress that damage with pesticides.”

No one wants to use pesticides. If you can grow crops organically and without pesticides, you definitely want to do it. Even so, we use pesticides because we are forced into a situation where they are necessary.

“However, the pesticide kills not only the pathogens and pests, but also the beneficial insects and bacteria that suppress them. Moreover, pests quickly develop resistance to pesticides, then in order to achieve the same effect, the amount of pesticide must be increased. If you keep doing that… you’ll end up not being able to grow there anymore.”

Because the soil dies. The sick soil cannot produce crops, and farmers are forced to abandon the land. This is that abandoned land.

“Chemical fertilizers are never bad. Pesticides are an integral part of modern agriculture. Is there anyone who gets ill and doesn’t take medicine? However, it wouldn’t be right to be taking a large amount of medicine on a daily basis to fight a stronger sickness. It’s all a matter of degree.”

“Then, if we reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, will the soil not get sick?”

“No. Continuity failure would still occur.”

“But if you take care of the soil without being greedy…”

“You know Ringo. It’s not.”

I point out a fundamental misunderstanding.

“Farming itself is damaging to the soil.”

“…”

“When you grow crops, the nutrients in the soil are absorbed by those crops. The microflora in the soil also changes as more bacteria and insects infest the crops. Farming always puts stress on the soil. It’s inevitable… no, that IS farming.”

A year or two doesn’t make much difference. But if you continue for five years, you will definitely see changes. If some kind of abnormality occurs in the soil, and if you ignore it and continue the same kind of farming there, you will end up in a barren land like a dessert.

One of the world’s four great civilizations, the Mesopotamians, which I studied in junior high social studies class, is said to have come to an end due to agriculture. They killed the soil, and when agriculture became impossible the civilization itself perished.

Humans have continued to kill soil in this way as far back as history goes. And it’s still happening. Humans cannot survive without agriculture.

“Then this soil… will never return to its original state…?”

Ringo’s expression does not change. However her voice trembled a little like it did when talking about de-beaking.

I was frightened by the dark future that appeared in my mind as I empathized with the soil. I deny that dark future with all my might.

“No, that’s not right either.”

“Eh? Then…”

“Humans can damage the soil, but we can also help heal it. Look at that Ringo!”

I point to the neighboring tomato field. There are few small seedlings that are growing here, but it has taken root properly in the earth and is bearing small blue fruit.

“That field started with the same soil as this one. This used to just be one field.”

“The same soil as here…?”

“That’s right.”

I take Ringo by the hand and step into the tomato field. The feel of the soil that we feel on the soles of our feet is elastic and soft.

“When my sempai started the project here, the soil was in the same condition as the first field.”

This is a project that we inherited from our sempai. The goal is to revive dead soil.

“It has taken us seven years to get this far.”

“Seven years…”

“Yes. It was started by our sempai seven years ago, and has been passed down through all the club members.”

To revive the failing soil, sempai used compost and leaf mulch instead of chemical fertilizers to bring back the dead bacteria and beneficial insects. We repeatedly treated the soil, over and over again, and gradually brought the soil back to life through trial and error. The accumulated excess nutrients had to be washed away with rainwater, which took a very very long time.

After seven years, I was finally able to recover to the point where I could grow something. We are now at a stage of resuming cultivation on a trial basis.

“It’s not fully recovered yet.”

I carefully pulled one tomato seedling out of the ground.

“Can you see the lumps on the roots? It’s called clubroot, and it’s the disease that caused the most damage here.”

Even after seven years of resting the land without growing anything, the scars remain deep. However.

“It still has the disease, but you can see new roots growing out of that knot right? Usually roots die when they get clubroot, but the crops here are doing their best to survive. It wards off disease, grows roots, and bears fruit properly.”

“Then… is the earth revived? Did it go back?”

“That’s right.” I nod.

“When you are sick, if you get good rest and take care of yourself properly, you be like before. You’ll feel much better than before. For sure.”

The reason we leave some of the dead soil intact is also to compare the speed of recovery between natural recovery and human intervention. The results are as can be seen now.

If humans lend their strength, the soil will recover at a speed that far surpasses that of nature. You can help it accumulate nutrients and nurture it back to life again.

But don’t get me wrong. Soil is not just a container for nutrients.

Thank you for reading my translation. This translation is of a book that is not already available in English and I will take it down when/if it ever is licensed or released in English by any publisher. This translation is free for anyone to read from my wordpress site. Please do not copy and republish this translation anywhere else without prior permission from myself only.

Feel free to message me if you have requests, comments, or anything else at [email protected]l.com . Also feel free to leave comments here. I personally like to try to localize translations rather than just having a straight translation because to me that’s more fun to read. I will be releasing the book in parts. Each part will be around 1500 words or the end of a chapter. I am translating at my leisure when I have time and feel like it. I should be releasing at least 1 part per week unless I am busy that week.

There is no pressure and no need to feel like you need to but I do accept donations for my work here. My usual work gets me at least $20/h and if I get a totaled $20 in donations I will spend an hour translation and release at least one part the next day instead of my normal job. Again this is only optional if anyone is feeling generous, nobody should feel bad for reading this for free. Thank you.