1961年いわき市生まれ。いわき短期大学商経科卒。地元のシステム企業に就職し、長年トータリゼーター（公営競技の投票券の発売・払戻等を管理するシステム）の開発・メンテナンスに携わる。東日本大震災を経て、自然界のあらゆるものの循環で成り立つ環境システムへの関心が高まり、2016年にイージープランニングを設立。再エネのプロデュースや有機物を使った肥料等の研究を行なううち、同じ志を持つ農業者と出会い、2022年大熊町にて農業に参入。

A corporation qualified to own cropland, EGplanning is engaged in the cultivation of ginger, paddy rice, and sweet potato in Okuma Town. It pursues a natural symbiotic farming method that cultivates agricultural produce of high quality and high nutritional value from healthy soil without the use of pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Besides developing processed ginger products and collaborating with the agriculture-welfare cooperative, it leverages IT to engage in smart agriculture and aims to increase the visitor population through agriculture in the future.

“I was always interested in environmental issues, so I started farming with the aim of using organic materials to bring out the potential of plants through natural symbiotic farming. I chose Okuma Town because the land there had no trace of pesticides thanks to cropland decontamination. Also, I was able to use a large piece of cropland that was well-watered and located near to a water source, which made it a very attractive option.”

Beside selling ginger at stations and other outlets, it is used in the “Hajimari ha spoon ippai no kouso kara” enzyme drink, which contains only ginger and beet sugar. Ginger is a highly beneficial ingredient used in traditional Japanese kanpo medicine, so we decided to turn it into a product.”
Ginger enzyme drink is available at convenience stores on linkuru Okuma.

Available online at https://tashirofarm.net (in Japanese only)
https://tashirofarm.net/

“After being introduced by the Fukushima Soso Reconstruction Promotion Council, we asked Social Welfare Corporation Yuaikai Work Center Sakura to help with cleaning and washing the ginger we harvest. We face a shortage of labor, so we are very grateful to them and hope they will continue to collaborate with us. We are aiming to increase ginger production to 30 tons and would like them to join us in the challenge of developing new processed ginger products.”

“We are engaged in smart agriculture. We have cameras and sensors that gather data on cropland conditions and we use these in our agricultural work. CO2 that is emitted in the process of agricultural work can also be stored underground within organic materials, so we are also gathering evidence on this. With the cooperation of prefectural agencies and Okuma Town, we hope to establish natural symbiotic farming here, and through publicity and events we hope to help draw more people to Okuma Town.”

(Interviewed February 2024)