環境負荷低減を後押し　２３年度農業白書を決定―政府

　政府は３１日の閣議で、２０２３年度の食料・農業・農村白書を決定した。環境分野を巡り、新たに独立した章を設けて記載を充実。生産現場の環境負荷低減を後押しする取り組みなどを説明した。
　白書によると、２２年に施行された「みどりの食料システム法」に基づき、２４年３月末時点で環境負荷低減に取り組む生産者を４０００人以上認定。認定されると税制優遇措置などが受けられ、制度を活用して水田除草機を導入した事例などを紹介した。（2024/05/31-08:58）

Japan's latest white paper on food, agriculture and rural areas, released Friday, included a new chapter dedicated to environmental matters in which the government explained measures to help mitigate environmental impacts from agricultural production.
   The fiscal 2023 white paper, adopted at the day's cabinet meeting, said that over 4,000 producers engaging in environmental impact reduction efforts as of the end of March were certified by the government based on the green food system law, which entered into effect in 2022.
   Certified producers are eligible for tax benefits, and the white paper introduced a case in which a certified farmer used the system to introduce a weeding machine for paddy fields.
   Japan is seeing a rise in organic agriculture, which does not use chemically synthesized fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, with farmland adopting such practices growing to 26,600 hectares in fiscal 2021.
   But the area remains at just 0.6 pct of all cultivated land in the country, and the government presented aid measures for private organizations providing technology for organic farming.