The agri-reconstruction project and rapeseed project for restoring tsunami-salt-damaged farmland after the GEJE–An institutional effort

Abstract

The Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, launched an Agri-Reconstruction Project in 2011 immediately after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake disaster, and this continues to date. The project’s objective is to support the agricultural, forestry and fisheries reconstruction process in the tsunami disaster area. The activities have been implemented through more than 40 research projects along the Tohoku region including the Rapeseed Project for Restoring Tsunami-Salt-Damaged Farmland. Immediately after the disaster, damaged farmlands were surveyed and salt-tolerant rapeseed varieties from Brassicaceae and related species were used to restore the soil. The plants came from the gene bank developed at the Graduate School of Agricultural Science, and were planted on damaged farmland in Sendai, Iwanuma and Higashi Matsushima cities. The varieties used to restore the soil depended on the specific damage. As part of the project, the production and sale of edible as well as fuel oil obtained from rapeseed plants was organized in coordination with the Miyagi Prefecture Sendai City government, a number of private companies and other partners. This enterprise continues to date. Besides using the salt-tolerant varieties of Brassicaceae plants in tsunami-damaged fields they are also used overseas in the rehabilitation of salt-damaged farmlands.