Teruhiko Sawamura (Higo Ayumi Association)

Producer: Koji Yamazaki Production area: Shiranui-cho, Uki-shi, Kumamoto Prefecture Main products: Tomatoes, pumpkins, salad onions, etc. No use of pesticides Fertilizers : Homemade bokashi fertilizer, Tenkei green juice

" I'm passionate about growing summer vegetables "

Sawamura Teruhiko is engaged in natural farming in Shiranui Town, Uki City, located in the southern part of Kumamoto City, a naturally rich area.
He is a tomato farmer from Kumamoto, a major tomato producing region, and is so famous that it is said that there is no farmer who does not know his name.
To this day, we have been working hard to produce safe, secure, and delicious tomatoes, and have perfected tomato cultivation in both quality and taste.
The experience and knowledge they have built up over the years makes them among the best farmers in the country.


Towards natural cultivation

Shiranui Town in Uki City, where Sawamura lives, is located on a small hill facing the sea.
The area is also known for the Shiranui fires that appear in the Yatsushiro Sea every summer night.
Sawamura's dream is for "the Shiranui region to return to the way it was in the past, a place filled with bountiful crops and a thriving agricultural industry. I want to make this a vibrant region where as many people as possible can be involved in agriculture and where agriculture supports people's lives."
To achieve this, in Kumamoto Prefecture, where the number of people turning away from agriculture is on the rise, the key is to help existing farmers make progress and enable their successors to take up farming of their own volition.
Their goal is to create true "agriculture" that can be passed down from parent to child, and from child to grandchild, for generations.
It is said that it is difficult for a farm to continue unless it has a solid management system.
Although Sawamura currently mainly practices organic farming, he himself is very attracted to the rich flavor of crops grown using natural farming, and he aims to eventually grow all of his crops using natural farming methods.

Starting natural farming

The place where they started using natural farming was originally a mountain, and the area had been barren for about 30 years before being "cultivated" into the fields that they have today.
Because only a short time has passed since the plant was built and the soil has not yet settled, it is a great shame that when there is heavy rain, the soft surface soil that has taken so much time to build up is washed away along with the rainwater.
However, if the fields are left to rest, the soil will harden, so the farmers have to go into the fields every day, even in the scorching heat.

Ginger and sweet potatoes are also mainly cultivated.
Until now, we have been creating soil using rye.
Little by little, the landscape is gradually changing from mountains to fields.

I want many people to eat it

Sawamura's wish is to have as many people as possible eat naturally grown crops.
This may seem normal for farmers, but more than being filled with passion and dedication, they also have a strong desire to be "evaluated."
The "feedback" he receives from his customers has become the foundation for Sawamura, and his goal of not just producing but also growing delicious vegetables so that everyone who eats them can become healthy and live happy lives will remain unchanged in the future.
With this in mind, we are expanding our efforts beyond just tomatoes to include vegetables and rice.
I am excited to see Sawamura's passion and drive expand the world of agriculture and natural farming in Kumamoto even further in the future.