Local Broadcasting Stations Take on Regional Revitalization (4) Kumamoto Kenmin TV's "Agricultural Power Project"

Local Stations Take on Regional Revitalization (4)

Amid calls for regional revitalization, local media companies are leveraging their strengths in community ties to contribute to area revitalization through diverse initiatives. This series focuses on the efforts of local broadcasters. Approaches vary widely: collaborating with local businesses to support each resident, launching innovative projects beyond network affiliations, and working with locals to rediscover the appeal of regional products. Efforts to broadcast the region's appeal are also accelerating, such as streaming footage owned by local stations online and supplying content to overseas stations. This six-part series reports on some of these initiatives.

Kumamoto Kenmin Television (KKT) is spearheading the "Kumamoto Agricultural Power Project." Blessed with fertile plains and abundant water sources, Kumamoto is one of Japan's leading agricultural prefectures. It boasts the nation's highest production of watermelons, tomatoes, and rush grass used for tatami mats (2013). Yet, even in Kumamoto, the environment surrounding agriculture is growing increasingly challenging. To enhance this agricultural strength—the "power of farming" (nouryoku)—and channel the vitality of agriculture into revitalizing Kumamoto, the project was launched in 2013. Utilizing some abandoned farmland, they conduct agricultural experiences at several locations within the prefecture, where participants recruited from the general public sow vegetable seeds, plant rice, and harvest crops. During harvest season, events like cooking schools using vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, and corn are also held. To date, approximately 800 people, including families, have participated (as of the end of November 2015). Teruki Irijima of the Business Division at the station's Business Bureau expressed his passionate desire: "When I was a child, farmers seemed wealthy and enviable, but in recent years, many farmers and livestock breeders have struggled to make ends meet. As a local TV station, we want to continue helping our hometown thrive in any way we can."