Invigorating Japan with Circular Agriculture to Pass On Delicious Food for 100 Years into the Future!

Our company supports April Dream, a project that makes April 1st a day to broadcast dreams. This press release represents the dream of 'Okayama Food Service Co., Ltd.' Okayama Food Service Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City https://www.okayamafs.com ), based on the belief that 'food is good for people,' is engaged in food wholesale to the restaurant industry, central kitchen proxy operations at factories, production of chicken, tea, and sweet potatoes at our own farm in Kagoshima, and the operation of delicatessens and restaurants in metropolitan areas centered around the Kansai region. We are a 'food future creation company' that practices sixth-sector industrialization by handling all production, processing, distribution, and service related to food ourselves. ■ Toward the Impending Food Crisis: Our Thoughts on Food and the 'Dream' We Want to Fulfill Japan's food self-sufficiency rate is now at the lowest level among developed countries at 38% (calorie basis). As a global scramble for food is about to begin, we, who are involved in food, are taking action to support Japanese agriculture even a little by engaging in farming ourselves. Furthermore, we aim for 100% resource recycling by composting livestock-derived cow and chicken manure, which is a regional waste issue, and residues such as food scraps and pomace from processing factories. Without relying on chemical fertilizers, which are mostly dependent on imports, we will work on producing delicious and safe agricultural products while circulating Japan's limited resources. What we aim for, our dream is, 'To invigorate Japanese agriculture more and pass on delicious food up to 100 years into the future.' Although it is a completely different field from the wholesale business, we believe that protecting Japanese agriculture is our mission as those involved in food. ■ Circular Agriculture in Kagoshima and New Challenges in Nara Prefecture We produce the 'compost' essential for circular agriculture ourselves. It is a compost named 'Kuroi Hitomi' (Black Eyes), made by mixing and fermenting chicken manure collected from the free-range poultry houses of our original brand chicken 'Satsuma Kiwami Dori Daimao' raised on our own farm, and 'shochu waste liquid' generated during the production of shochu, which is a core industry of Kagoshima. This natural