Buy an Agricultural Warehouse with Subsidies! 3 Must-See Subsidy Programs for Business Owners [Case Study].

Agricultural managers. Do you want to strengthen or supplement your own business but lack the funds to do so? In such cases, you may want to consider using various subsidy programs.

Grants are difficult to understand.”
I don’t think I’ll get it.”

You may be losing money because you are avoiding them for that reason. We have organized the agriculture-related subsidies in an easy-to-understand manner, so please check to see if there are any that you can use yourself.

Table of Contents

1. The reality of subsidies related to agriculture

2. Subsidies for farmers 1: Multifunctional Payment Grants

2-1. What is the Japan-type direct payment system?

2-2. What is the Multifunctional Payment Grant?

2-3. Eligible Organizations

2-4. Eligible Businesses

2-5. Support unit price

Subsidy for farmers 2: Comprehensive grants to support the development of strong agriculture and bearers of agriculture

3-1. Eligible Organizations

3-2. Eligible Businesses

Subsidy for Farmers 3: Power Up Production Base in Production Areas

4-1. Eligible Organizations

4-2. Eligible Businesses

5. image of grant utilization

5-1. Example of a grant to cover half the cost of a mycorrhizal tent for producing shiitake and maitake mushrooms

5-2. Example of repair work for an aging agricultural waterway in Aomori Prefecture

5-3. Example of a brand-name rice farmer in Fukushima Prefecture introducing a tent workshop

Summary 6.

Facts about subsidies related to agriculture

Did you know that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has established various support programs for farm managers in order to maintain and further develop Japan’s agricultural industry?

According to the ” Survey on Farmers and Agriculture ” targeting self-employed farmers and those interested in agriculture, on average, only less than 30% of respondents are aware of the exact nature of subsidies and other support programs, and only 50% are aware of the names. The problem that has emerged is that although support systems exist, they are not well known. Even when looking at the details, it is believed that there are many people who have not been able to get involved due to barriers caused by content recognition issues such as “complexity of procedures” and “not knowing what kind of systems are available.

As various support systems have been established in reality, it would be a great waste if you are not taking advantage of them because you “don’t know or don’t know. In this article, we will discuss the following three grants that you may be eligible for.

• Multifunctional Payment Grants
• Comprehensive grants to support the development of strong agriculture and bearers of agriculture
• Project to Increase the Power of Production Bases in Production Areas

Subsidy for farmers 1: Multifunctional Payment Grants

First of all, I would like to explain about the subsidy called “Multifunctional Payment Grant”. This program is established as one of the Japan-type direct payment programs.

What is the Japan-type direct payment system?

The system supports local joint activities and farming activities in order to promote the maintenance and fulfillment of the multifunctional role of agriculture and rural areas, not only in food production, but also in the conservation of the national land and natural environment, and to reduce the burden on bearers who are expanding the scale of their farming activities. The system provides support for local joint activities and farming activities, etc., with the aim of reducing the burden on farmers who are expanding their farms.

The three schemes, the Multi-functional Payment Scheme, the Direct Payment Scheme for Mountainous Areas, and the Direct Payment Scheme for Environmentally Protected Agriculture, are collectively called the Japan-type Direct Payment Scheme.

What is the Multifunctional Payment Grant?

Of these, “multifunctional payment grants” refer to grants that support activities that support multifunctional functions and activities that improve the quality of local resources (farmland, waterways, farm roads, etc.), which are carried out jointly by the community. This is further divided into two support programs, “farmland maintenance payment” and “resource improvement payment,” according to the purpose.

The contents of each are as follows

Agricultural Land Maintenance Payment Grants

It supports joint activities that support multifunctional functions such as basic conservation activities for local resources.

• Mowing of farmland slopes, mucking up waterways, maintaining farm road surfaces, etc.
• Expansion and strengthening of systems to respond to structural changes in rural areas, and development of concepts for conservation and management of local resources.

Resource Consolidation Payment Grants

This program supports joint activities to improve the quality of local resources and the longevity of facilities.

• Minor repairs to waterways, farm roads, and reservoirs, and rural environment conservation activities such as landscape formation and ecosystem conservation through planting
• Repairs to extend the service life of aging waterways, farm roads, etc.

Organizations eligible for multifunctional payment grants

In order to implement activities utilizing the Multifunctional Payment Grants, it is necessary to establish either one of the following “activity organizations” or “wide-area activity organizations”.

Organization of Activities”:: “Organization of Activities”:: “Organization of Activities”: “Organization of Activities”: “Organization of Activities

1. Organizations composed exclusively of farmers
2. Organizations composed of farmers and others (local residents, organizations, etc.)

‘Broad-based Action Organizations:

1. Wide-area activity organization consisting solely of farmers
2. Wide-area organizations consisting of farmers and others (local residents, organizations, etc.)

Projects eligible for multifunctional payment grants

‘Agricultural Land Maintenance Payment Grants:

1. Basic conservation activities for local resources
2. Promotion activities for appropriate conservation and management of local resources

 

‘Resource Improvement Payment Grants:

1. Minor repairs to facilities
2. Rural Environmental Conservation Activities
3. Activities to promote multifunctional activities

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website)

Is this grant likely to be available? For more information on the Multifunctional Payment Grants, please refer to the following article.
>What is “Multifunctional Payment Grants”? How to receive subsidies for farmland, waterway, and farm road maintenance projects, etc.

Subsidy for farmers 2: Comprehensive support grants for building strong agriculture and bearers of agriculture

The “Comprehensive Support Grant for Creating Strong Agriculture and Leaders of Agriculture” provides support for the introduction of necessary agricultural machinery and facilities to core business entities in the region that have prepared appropriate people and farmland plans, without interruption, depending on the size of the farm business entity.

The support is divided into three types according to the content of the support: “Support for Key Facilities in Production Areas,” “Support for Establishment of Advanced Agricultural Management,” and “Support for the Development of Local Leaders. The conditions for the “regional leader development support type” are further divided into two types: the “loan-based assistance type” and the “disadvantaged area type”.

Organizations eligible for the Comprehensive Support Grant for Building Strong Agriculture and Bearers of Agriculture

The following is a summary of the types and conditions. First, the following organizations are eligible for the “Support for Core Facilities in Production Areas” type.

• Agricultural corporations and farmers’ organizations that play a central role in local agriculture.

Next, organizations eligible for the “Advanced Agricultural Management Establishment Support Type” and the “Loan Entity Subsidy Type” of the “Local Leader Development Support Type” are defined as follows.

• Central management entity positioned in the appropriate people and farmland plan
• Farmers or groups organized by farmers that the project proponent recognizes as necessary to realize the contents specified in the “Future Plan for Local Agriculture” of the appropriate People and Agricultural Land Plan.
• Persons who have obtained the establishment of leaseholds, etc. from the Organization for Land Intermediary Management

Finally, organizations eligible for the “Disadvantaged Region Type Subsidy Project” of the “Regional Leader Development Support Type” are as follows Please note that detailed conditions have been set for all of these programs, so separate confirmation is required.

• Organizations of farmers, etc.
• Entrant Corporation
• Organizations, etc. recognized by the project implementer

Projects eligible for the Comprehensive Support Grant for Creating Strong Agriculture and Bearers of Agriculture

The eligibility for each type of subsidy is defined as follows

• Support type for key facilities in production areas: Key facilities in production areas for agricultural use (with a useful life of 5 years or more)
• Support for establishment of advanced agricultural management type: Agricultural machinery and facilities (useful life: 5-20 years)
• Support for development of local leaders: Agricultural machinery and facilities (useful life of 5 to 20 years)

Is this grant likely to be available? For more information on the Comprehensive Support Grant for Building Strong Agriculture and Bearers of Agriculture, please see the following article.
> How to introduce agricultural machinery and facilities using the “Comprehensive Support Grant for Creating Strong Agriculture and Bearers of Agriculture”.

Subsidy for Farmers 3: Power Up Production Base in Production Areas Project

The third is the “Production Area Production Base Power Up Project,” which provides comprehensive support to farmers for the introduction of high-performance machinery and facilities and the conversion of cultivation systems, with the aim of capturing new markets and strengthening production bases.

Support will be provided for the development of bases to stably capture new markets for overseas use and new markets for processing and commercial use, as well as for the strengthening and succession of production bases in production areas nationwide, and for nationwide soil development through the use of compost.

Organizations eligible for the Production Area Production Base Power Up Project

The following organizations are eligible to participate in the “Production Area Power Up Plan (Profitability Improvement Type)” prepared by the Regional Agricultural Revitalization Councils, etc., which describes goals and multiple initiatives to achieve them.

• farmer
• agricultural cooperative
• agricultural cooperative
• qualified agricultural land ownership corporation
• Other organizations organized by farmers

Projects eligible for the Production Area Production Base Power Up Project

The following two types of initiatives have been set aside for support

Maintenance projects:

• Drying and Preparation Facilities
• Grain drying, preparation and storage facilities
• Collection, shipping and storage facilities
• agro-processing facility
• Development of facilities such as production technology advancement facilities (e.g., low-cost weatherproof greenhouses, etc.)

Fund projects (production support projects and effectiveness promotion projects):

1. Leasing and acquiring high-performance agricultural machinery to reduce costs
2. Introduction of production materials necessary for high value-added production, such as rain shelter greenhouses
3. Replanting of competitive varieties of fruit trees with the same variety, etc.

Is this grant likely to be available? For more information on the Power Up Production Base Project, please refer to the following article.
> How Farmers Can Improve Profitability by Utilizing MAFF’s “Production Area Power Up Project

Image of the use of grants

At the end of this article, we will present a case study of a farmer who took advantage of the grant mentioned above. Please refer to the utilization of this information.

Example of a grant to cover half the cost of a mycorrhizal tent for producing shiitake and maitake mushrooms

A mushroom producer in Yamagata Prefecture’s Mogami County used a grant to install a “mycorrhizal tent” for use as a mycorrhizal bed production and seed cultivation facility.

In applying for the “Comprehensive Support Grant for Creating Strong Agriculture and Leaders in Agriculture” (support type for key industrial facilities), “tents” were selected because the project is limited to facilities with a useful life of five years or more, and conventional plastic greenhouses are not eligible for this grant. The tent is constructed with a special membrane material that allows for adequate solar radiation reduction while ensuring brightness.

Thus, the use of grants also makes it possible to introduce excellent facilities without difficulty.

At that time, a tent warehouse called “Flex House” was introduced by Taiyo Kogyo Co. Flex House” has a shorter construction period and lower cost than conventional warehouses and system construction warehouses, and its durability has been enhanced by the evolution of membrane materials.

For more information or to inquire about Flex, please visit the following links
> “Flex House” by Taiyo Kogyo Corporation

Example of repair work for an aging agricultural waterway in Aomori Prefecture

The Amamabayashi Land Improvement District in Shichinohe Town, Aomori Prefecture, was experiencing difficulties in securing water for agricultural use due to the aging of its agricultural canals. Most of the canals were built between 1955 and 1965, and the degree of aging and deterioration was close to the limit of use, requiring immediate action.

The first issue was that the roads around the canal were narrow, making it difficult to get heavy equipment in to carry out concrete pouring work for repairs.

The second issue was that there were no products that fell under the “farmer-led conservation management” promoted by the prefecture and could be repaired only by farmers without expertise or experience.

(Aging and deteriorated agricultural waterways)

The “Concrete Canvas” solves this problem and makes it possible to repair agricultural waterways. Concrete Canvas” is a special sheet that can create a concrete surface simply by laying it down and sprinkling water on it, and since it does not require heavy machinery, it can be used on narrow farm roads, and since it is easy to install, farmers can work on it alone.

(Agricultural canal repaired with “Concrete Canvas”)

The prefecture gave high marks to “Concrete Canvas” because it not only solved the problem, but also completed the repair in an extremely short time frame and improved the landscape.

This “concrete canvas” was purchased through a grant program.

For more information or to inquire about Concrete Canvas, please visit the following links
> “Concrete Canvas” by Taiyo Kogyo Co.

Example of a brand-name rice farmer in Fukushima Prefecture introducing a tent workshop

A rice farmer in Fukushima Prefecture, who is engaged in online sales of “Amanotsubu,” a new variety of rice grown with fewer pesticides, used a grant to install a tent workshop. A grain dryer was installed in the tent workshop and is used to sort the rice. The dryer is shared by several farmers in the area to improve efficiency, and was eligible for a subsidy from the “Production Area Production Base Power Up Project,” which cannot be used independently. The installation was done by a local electrical equipment company, not by a design firm. The farmers in the surrounding area gather at this location, which facilitates communication and contributes to the revitalization of the local community.

Other examples of grant-funded projects are also available. Please also see here.
> Example of a grant that reduced the cost burden of waterways and warehouses in an agricultural operation.

summary

Three major grants related to agriculture are listed below. Have you found any that might be available? Don’t give up and say, “I don’t know,” but check the various conditions and try to use them to strengthen or supplement your management. Information that is not available in this article alone can be found below.

Please contact Taiyo Kogyo Corporation for information on products eligible for grants.
>> TAIYO KOGYO COMPANY, LIMITED│General Inquiries

Please contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries regarding the grant program.
> “Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Inquiry Desk