[First arrival this season] Naturally grown eggplant

Fukumoto Farm, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture
Fukumoto-san is 24 years old, and after working for an organic farming corporation, he started farming in Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture in 2016. Since his first year, he has been growing turnips, taro, eggplant, spinach, radishes, and other crops without fertilizer or pesticides. When I visited the production area, I was mainly shown the turnip, spinach, and radish fields. The land had been abandoned for many years, and the reclaimed fields were blessed with fertile black soil. Perhaps because there was little fertilizer or pesticide used in the past, the soil was soft and comfortable.

 The fertile soil of Kuroboku, nurtured by volcanic ash. Fukumoto-san is still in his mid-20s and has just started farming. From the beginning, he had high aspirations, believing that "anything other than farming without pesticides is impossible," and he is working on environmental conservation-oriented agriculture. After learning about natural farming through his connection with Purely, he has been working on soil improvement while also trying his hand at natural farming.