○ Abundant local resources in rural areas should be utilized as renewable energy under the local leadership. Such energy should be locally produced and consumed to invigorate rural areas.

○ Development of “Biomass Industrialized Area” which aims to create an eco-friendly community resilient to disasters, is promoted through the encouragement of industrialization utilizing regional biomass.

## A rural area’s future local production and consumption of renewable energy

Source: MAFF

## Biogas power generation facility using local resources

In Hokkaido Prefecture’s Betsukai Town, which is one of the biggest dairy farming areas in Japan and was selected as a biomass industrialized area in 2013, a biogas power generation facility using locally provided domestic animal wastes was completed in FY2015 under a core project of the Betsukai Town biomass industrialized area scheme.

The facility’s design capacity is about 9,600 megawatt-hours per year covering 44.2% of power consumption by the town’s 6,360 households. The facility is one of the largest biogas power plants using

The facility plans to sell local dairy farmers digested slurry as by-products of fermentation, contributing to local dairy farming. Betsukai Town plans to continuously cooperate with the company in creating local jobs and revitalizing the area.

Biogas power plant

## 4 Exchanges between urban and rural areas through collaboration with various sectors

Rural areas have various attractions for urban residents. The number of people staying at farm-inns has been rising along with the number of such inns. The younger generation is more interested in farming experiences.

☐ It is important to attract people to rural areas through exchanges between various fields such as education and welfare to trigger the creation of new business operations.

## How to spend leisure time in rural areas – a breakdown by age group

## Exchanges through experience-based educational tours

Suo-Oshima Town in Yamaguchi Prefecture established a Suo-Oshima experience-based tourism promotion council in 2008, launching the acceptance of experience-based educational tours.

the special local product of orange were combined with staying at farm or fisheries inns for these tours, attracting 3,674 students in FY2015. The experience-based tours have won high ratings by participating students, school teachers and tour-accepting farming households.

Orange harvesting experience

--1st half, FY2014" (released in September 2014)

## Persons with disabilities play active roles in farming

Social welfare corporation E.G.F. in Hagi City of Yamaguchi Prefecture runs a program in which persons with disabilities are engaged in seeding, harvesting and processing for melons, strawberries and vegetables according to their abilities. E.G.F. pursues genuine product manufacturing rather than subcontracting, offering a 2,500-yen pack of 12 organic strawberries and hand-peeled chestnuts in high demand. It makes strong sales efforts, selling farm products and their processed versions. Local residents seeing working persons with disabilities have increasingly asked E.G.F. to use their farmland. (Selected in the 2nd Discover Countryside Treasures in Japan)

People in farming operations