I want to make my favorite rice with my own hands.


A fourth grader in Kobe, who had no connection with agriculture, has become a disciple of a farmer and is trying to grow rice.


Farmers and locals are warmly watching the struggles of small children.



(Kimura Kosuke, Director, Osaka Broadcasting Station)

Yu-chan, who loves rice

Yusuke Shintaku (9), a 4th grader in Kobe City,


is called "Yu-chan" by everyone and is familiar to him.

The amount of rice you eat a day is 2 go or more.

I love rice.



When I was in kindergarten, my body was small and it was said that I was in the forefront.


However, when I started rugby, I started eating a lot and my body got bigger.

Now I'm eating 3 cups of tea bowl.

Yu-chan


"I'm sorry. It's delicious! Oh, it's the best."


"Taste, sweetness, and firmness. It's different."

Hand your favorite rice

Yu-chan was born and raised in a residential area in an urban area and had nothing to do with agriculture.



Last year, I chose "rice farming" as the theme of my independent study because I wanted to make my favorite rice with my own hands.



I had my mother connect me and I became a disciple of a farmer I knew.

I rented a fallow field and learned a series of work from shirokaki to rice planting and harvesting.

Mr. Tomohiro Nakai, the teacher, was very surprised when he was first asked to teach him how to make rice.



Tomohiro Nakai, a farmer,


"I was surprised. It's rare for elementary school students to want to do it or make it themselves. But he told me it was delicious, so I'll tell you."

Yu-chan, who also loves insects

The title of Yu-chan's independent study is "Rice-making Chosenki"


. Detailed records of rice-making, the appearance of the creatures found in the rice fields, and the harvested rice. Rice, rice ...

Among them, the insects that Yu-chan was particular about.



Yu-chan


"Pests eat rice in rice fields, but insects are just there, beneficial insects are good insects in rice fields. I don't like medicine because insects die. Because insects also have lives."

When I think of insects, I don't want to use pesticides.



However, as a result of not using any pesticides, the rice fields were full of weeds last year.


Due to the collapse of rice due to the typhoon, the amount of rice harvested was 45 kg, which was less than one-sixth of the target.

Challenge Triops shrimp farming

It will not end as it is.

Yu-chan decided to grow rice in earnest, not as an independent study.



The secret plan is "Triopsidae farming method"


, which is one of the pesticide-free farming methods in which weeds are eaten in the sprout by releasing the triops immediately after planting rice.



He found it when he was looking for a book about rice cultivation in the library and borrowed it many times.

Yu-chan


"I haven't returned (the book in the library) many times, so I already bought it."

Having been handed over an egg from a triops farming expert, Yu-chan is now starting to grow triops in her room.

I check the growth every day with a microscope.

Make people around you happy

Yu-chan's new challenge.

It is also inspiring for my teacher, Mr. Nakai.

Tomohiro Nakai, a farmer,


"I'm always lonely. I'm working alone. That's why it's fun to have friends who can work together."

For Mr. Nakai, Yu-chan is no longer a disciple, but a companion who grows rice together.

In addition, the farmers around me are watching Yu-chan warmly.

A farmer in the neighborhood


"I'm grateful that the farmer's way of seeing grandpa and grandma and having children learn how to farm has been going on for a long time."

I want my friends to eat

Yu-chan's rice farming makes not only herself but also the people around her happy.


This is the second year of rice cultivation, aiming for the target harvest of 300 kg.

Yu-chan


"I'm glad if everyone and my classmates eat it and say it's delicious because everyone supported me."

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