Niigata ranks first in the nation in terms of rice cultivation area and production levels. This northwestern region is flanked by mountains and sea. It offers favourable growing conditions ...

By combining growth-enhancing microbes with the organic waste generated during rice production, a research team in Japan aims to create a functional compost tailor-made for rice cultivation.

"I'm afraid more rice farmers will be giving up." Around his farm, where he was born and raised, depopulation has progressed at an alarming rate in the last 10 years, triggering mass retirements ...