タイトル:Current status and task on irrigation water management of farming resumption area in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
著者:Hono Ishimoto, Moono Shin, Hiroshi Jinguji
大会名:The 2021 Korean Society of Agricultural Engineer Annual Conference
開催日:2021年11月4日
要旨
The great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 caused the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). The radioactive materials released and dispersed by this accident were deposited primarily in the Fukushima prefecture resulting in the evacuation of entire villages in some areas. Paddy field cropping restrictions were imposed in the area to limit the transfer of emitted radionuclides to agricultural crops. Post-accident, plenty of public support has been provided for decontamination, inflow prevention, and diffusion prevention. The evacuation orders are being lifted even in the areas exposed to a great deal of radioactive materials. Ten years after the accident, about 30% of the former residents have returned to the area where they lived, and a few farmers have resumed farming. In the future, the recommencement of farming and making the process sustainable is a concern for the recovery from the accident. This study was focused on the Ukedo river land improvement district (LID) located ca. 30-km northwest of FDNPP in the Fukushima prefecture, where farming has resumed after the lifting of the evacuation order. A field survey was conducted through interviews with the managers of the Ukedo river LID regarding the status of the resumption of farming, actual maintenance and management of the agricultural water use facilities, and the state of public support. This study yielded several key findings. First, it is expected that the maintenance and management of irrigation canals will be facilitated by the project of covering irrigation canals to reduce the inflow of radioactive materials by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF). Second, the maintenance and management of the agricultural water use facilities by a small number of people will be an important issue for the resumption of farming.