xBachev

Great East Japan Earthquake – Implications for Agriculture, Food Industries and Consumption

Synopsis

On March 11, 2011 the strongest ever recorded in Japan earthquake occurred which triggered a powerful tsunami and caused a nuclear accident in one of the world’s largest nuclear plant stations. The triple disaster has been having immense impacts on people’s life, health and property, social infrastructure, economy, policies, natural and institutional environment, etc. in the affected regions, Japan, and beyond. This book tries to make a comprehensive assessment on the multiple impacts of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear accident on the Japanese agriculture and food sector. It identifies and evaluates radiation, displacement, health, physiological, production, economic, technological, organizational, environmental, institutional, political, etc. impacts of the disasters in all stages (inputs supply, farming, storage, wholesaling, transportation, processing, distribution, retailing, consumption) and components (natural resources, labor, biological and material assets, intangibles, technology, production structure, finance, waste disposal, information, management) of agri-food chain, and temporal (immediate, short-term, long-term) and spacial (local, regional, national, trans-national) scales. It summarizes responses of individuals, households, farms, businesses, communities, consumers, stakeholders, and authorities as well as assesses the progress and challenges in the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The book withdraws lessons from the Japanese experiences and suggests recommendations for effective risk management in Japan and around the globe. The study is based on a wide range of information from governmental, academic, farmers, industry, international, etc. organizations, media, experts assessments and in-deep interviews with leading experts, stakeholders, and affected agents. Findings are presented in a popular way in order to reach a larger audience of researchers, educators, students, experts, farmers, businessmen, administrators, policy makers, professionals, non-governmental and international organizations, consumers, victims, and public at large.

Introduction

Part 1. Overall impacts of March 2011 triple disaster

Chapter 1. Description of events

Chapter 2. Human damages and health effects

Chapter 3. Evacuation and migration

Chapter 4. Economic damages and impacts

Chapter 5. Environmental impact

Part 2. Impacts on agri-food organizations, products, markets and regulations

Chapter 6. Affected farms and agricultural resources

Chapter 7. State of restoration of agricultural organizations, lands, and infrastructure

Chapter 8. Impact on food industries

Chapter 9. Radioactive contamination of agri-food products

Chapter 10. Effects on markets, consumers and international trade

Chapter 11. Effects on food regulation and inspection system

Chapter 12. Farms and agri-businesses damages from nuclear accident

Part 3. Impact on agri-food production, distribution and Consumption

Chapter 13. Impact on farms number, farmland use, and agricultural employment

Chapter 14. Impact on agricultural productions

Chapter 15. Impact on agricultural output and income Impact on farm economy

Chapter 16. Impact on farm economy

Chapter 17. Expert assessments on impacts and factors of March 2011 disasters

Conclusion

References

About Author

Ph.D in Economics, Agricultural Academy, Sofia. M.Sc in Agricultural and Industrial Economics, University of Economics, Sofia. Researcher and teaching at University of Missouri, Columbia, USA; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan; Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, National Agriculture Research Center, Tsukuba, Japan; Birkbeck College of London University, London, United Kingdom; Catholic University of Louvain, Leuvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; INRA, Montpellier, France; Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. More than 300 academic papers, contributions to books and books in 40 countries of Europe, North America and Asia. Incorporating the new developing interdisciplinary New Institutional and Transaction Cost Economics (combining Economics, Organization, Law, Sociology, Political and Behavioral Sciences) into agrarian and food sector to analyze diverse modes of governance (market, private, public, hybrid, formal, informal, local, regional, transnational), and factors and prospects of institutional and organizational modernization in agri-food sector. Recent research focusing on governance and assessment of agrarian and rural sustainability; analysis of agrarian and rural institutions, organizations and contracts; environmental and risk governance, food security and food chain management; assessment of impacts of EU and national policies and programs; management and agrarian research and innovation, etc. Extensive consultancy and contribution to a great number of policy assistance projects carried out by the Government, UN FAO, EU, OECD, NATO, WB, IIED etc. Co-founder, and the first Executive Secretary and Vice-President of the Bulgarian Association of Agricultural Economists, MC member of COST IS1001 Bio-objects, and a member of the European Association of Agricultural Economists, and International Association of Agricultural Economics.