Building the resilience of Japan’s agricultural sector to typhoons and heavy rain
Japan is highly exposed to natural hazards, and agricultural producers in Japan have
significant experience in managing the risk of natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID).
However, recent large-scale typhoons and heavy rain events have highlighted the importance
of increasing the sector’s resilience to NHID. A number of current practices build
resilience. Disaster risk governance and agricultural policy frameworks are flexible
and responsive to evolving NHID risks. Non-structural measures such as hazard maps
are increasingly seen as complementary to infrastructure in preventing and mitigating
flood risks. Innovative on-farm solutions for mitigating flood risks, such as the
paddy field dam, are also increasingly used. Disaster response is rapid, and disaster
assistance prioritises helping producers to resume farming. However, agricultural
disaster risk management (DRM) must reflect the challenge of more frequent and intense
typhoons and heavy rains in the context of ageing and depopulation in rural areas.
Public DRM measures should also be complemented by greater efforts from farmers and
other stakeholders, such as agricultural co-operatives, to build agricultural resilience
to NHID.
Published on June 01, 2021
In series:OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papersview more titles