Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. x Agri-Farm Business

Changing the future of food from Yaeyama. Rohto's vision for a new form of livestock farming.

​Yohei, the farm manager Yaeyama Farm Co., Ltd.

Could you tell me about your daily work?

I run a livestock farm in Ishigaki Island, where we practice sustainable agriculture. Rohto aims to create healthy bodies that don't rely on medicine, and to achieve this, we are re-examining the food that forms the basis of that health, starting from the primary industries. We use pig manure to grow pasture grass, which is then eaten by cows. The cow manure is used as fertilizer for NAPPLE fields, and NAPPLE pulp is used as pig feed. By recycling resources in this way, our job is to create food that is also kind to the environment.

What moments at work truly move you?

It makes me very happy when customers tell me things like, "I've never eaten such delicious meat before," or "We're rooting for you." In fact, we're very particular about what we feed our cattle. We mix in by-products (waste) from a major factory in Ishigaki, and we've had the surprising result that feeding the cows fermented feed made from the distillation residue of awamori (Okinawan rice liquor) reduced the amount of methane gas in their burps by half. Being able to contribute to Ishigaki's industrial challenges while also working on environmental conservation is what makes my work so rewarding.

What kind of heartfelt message do you want to convey to your customers?

We want to deliver "future health" through food. The livestock farming we aim for contributes to the preservation of the Earth's environment, and NAPPLE are the only ones organically grown in Japan. By having people eat lots of these, we want to create a future where delicious, healthy, and environmentally friendly food makes the world a healthier place.

What kind of world will tomorrow be?
Do you want to change things?

I want to spread the concept of "E-Livestock Farming" (Ethical, Ecological, Economic, Emotional, Environment, and "Great!"). Right now, Wagyu beef is associated with deliciousness, but I dream that if the value of being both environmentally friendly and delicious becomes commonplace, livestock farming around the world will begin to change. I want to create a future where, looking back in 10 or 20 years, people will say, "The livestock farming model originating from Yaeyama Farm Co., Ltd. changed the world of food."

Yohei-san, the farm manager Yaeyama Farm Co., Ltd.

Keywords that move my heart

E Livestock farming, Wakyō Doryoku, energy

About the Agri-Farm Business
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