One Farmer’s Belief is Changing Agriculture and Inspiring the Future
Around the world, temperatures are rising at dangerous speeds, and people are searching for ways to protect the future. In Aichi Prefecture, Japan, a farmer named Masamitsu Matsuzawa, age 78, is leading a quiet but powerful revolution in agriculture. Visitors from all over the country travel to see his farm, called Fukutsu Farm, because he is practicing something very unusual: no-till farming.
At the weekly organic farmers’ market in Toyohashi, his vegetables are so popular that when his baskets are unloaded from his truck, people rush toward them. Within five minutes, many of the vegetables are nearly sold out!
Customers say things like:
“Sweet, and the aroma really stands out.”
“The sweetness is different. You can even eat them raw. They may look the same as supermarket vegetables, but the texture and taste are completely different.”
So, what’s the secret? Matsuzawa doesn’t plow his fields and doesn’t remove most weeds. Instead, he lets weeds, vegetables, and other plants grow together.
“As you can see, it looks like a jungle of weeds. By not tilling, everything exists in harmony and balance.”
This means weeds aren’t enemies—they actually help! By using sunlight, they create healthy soil. They also absorb more carbon dioxide (CO₂), storing it underground. When it rains, the roots of weeds protect the soil from washing away. Over time, worms, microbes, and other small life thrive, making the soil rich and able to grow delicious vegetables.
“These weeds are using solar energy to build the soil for us.”
On his farm, Matsuzawa grows about 200 different crops every year, from cabbages and peas to garlic. He also raises chickens, making his own feed for them and using their manure as fertilizer instead of chemicals.
Matsuzawa began farming 41 years ago after leaving his job in food research. At first, people laughed at him for refusing to use pesticides. His wife, Taeko, remembers:
“People thought farming was impossible without pesticides. When he said he would stop using them, they told him it would never work. But now, after 40 years, he’s ahead of his time.”
Today, more than 500 visitors a year come to learn from him, and some even live on his farm as apprentices. They discover that farming doesn’t have to be a battle against weeds and bugs—it can be cooperation with nature.
One young learner said:
“Even weeds aren’t enemies. You don’t have to fight against insects either. That was a relief for me.”
Former students have even started their own no-till farms, carrying forward his vision. Families who visit Fukutsu Farm get to harvest wild plants and even cook them as tempura. Some kids who normally refuse leafy greens suddenly discover how delicious freshly picked vegetables can be!
Matsuzawa’s dream is simple but powerful:
“Farming, depending on how it’s designed, can either add to global warming or help prevent it. I want to keep developing agriculture that builds the foundation of a safe world for children to live in.”
His no-till method is more than farming—it’s a game changer in the fight against climate change and in creating a healthier world.
To put it in U.S. measurement, if Matsuzawa worked with 1 hectare of land, that’s about 107,639 square feet of natural, sustainable farming!
I think Matsuzawa’s approach shows that sometimes the best solutions come from working with nature instead of fighting against it. By refusing to give up and staying true to his belief, he proved that farming can protect the Earth and also give us healthier food. To me, that’s what makes him a true game changer.
Source:
- https://youtu.be/RkV5HNiDZVQ?si=mnrCPWSH9xdM5B2K
- https://news.ntv.co.jp/n/ctv/category/life/ct98e731eb1d93430cacff8ffcd2ee7794?p=3
- https://app.pictory.ai/
- https://chatgpt.com/
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