OKAFOODS Diary | La France Project Episode 2 - Let's go meet the farme

Oka Foods has been invited by our valued partner, Thomas Co., Ltd. (featured in SHINKA Newsletter No. 48), to launch the La France Project! We will be writing about the project, its activities, and our thoughts on it in a four-part series!

This time we will be bringing you Episode 2 of the La France Project: Let's go meet the farmers!

Episode 2: Let's go meet the farmers

On Monday, September 12, 2022, under a clear, sunny day with still-heated skies, we visited DEWA Valley Farm/Tokairin Orchards in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture. Accompanied by Thomas, who introduced us to the farm, we spent about half a day touring the farm and hearing from local farmers about the current state of affairs and future prospects. First, we'll introduce Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, a place we weren't able to cover in Episode 1!

What is Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture like?

Located almost in the center of Yamagata Prefecture, it borders Yamagata City, the prefectural capital, to the south and Sendai City, the largest city in the Tohoku region, to the east. Tendo City, which is the number one producer of shogi pieces and La France pears in Japan, is also known as the "hot spring town" with Tendo Onsen. It is easily accessible from Tokyo, about 70 minutes by plane (about 2 hours and 40 minutes by Shinkansen), making it possible to make a day trip from the metropolitan area. (Quoted from the official website of Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture)

Quoted from the Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture website

Tendo Station

The state of "La KIDU Tree"

In Episode 1, the word "fruit thinning" was mentioned, so let's take a look at how much the plants have grown after the fruit thinning!

September 12th: Mikey's growth is amazing!

It's starting to look like La France.

The La KIDU tree has grown so large, and thanks to Tokairin Farm's arrangement, a panel was placed in front of the tree, and a ceremony to install the panel was held on the day of our visit. A beautiful panel was also installed on Thomas's La France tree, "Yui"!

Name panels have been installed!

Thomas's "Yui" has also been installed!

The harvest season is expected to be around the second or third week of October, but each city and town has its own opening date, and the harvest will take place after that. Also, the peas are not ready to eat immediately after being harvested, but are shipped after a period of maturation known as "post-ripening." Okafoods project members plan to make their next visit in time for the harvest! The harvest will be featured in Episode 3. Stay tuned!

Farmers' stories

On the day, we were able to hear from not only Mr. Tokaibayashi, but also a variety of people, including new farmers (people who have recently started farming in Tendo City), surrounding farmers, and nurseries that provide seedlings to farmers.

Farmers cultivate delicious fruit, but they face various social challenges, such as the aging of active farmers, a decrease in the number of successors, and the resulting increase in abandoned farmland.

A young almond tree (with fruit in the middle)

On the other hand, we also heard about a new attempt to start growing almonds.

This story will be told somewhere in the series!

By actually visiting the farms and listening to their real opinions, we were able to think about how we, as Okafoods and as consumers, could help in some way, even if it wasn't direct. We will cherish this feeling and look forward to the next harvest! Please look forward to the next one!

Episode 1 is here