Summer veggies struggling in the heat

I recently saw an article via NHK about how this summer's record heat is affecting vegetable production in Japan. Even as someone who is semi-used to summers here now, this year seems extreme, and it's taking a real toll on farmers.

The article focused on Koyama Misao, a farmer in Tachikawa City in Tokyo, who grows around 160 varieties of vegetables which are usually sold at farmers markets and to restaurants. The heat and lack of rain have been drying out the soil so quickly that many crops are failing, with cucumbers withering before they are ready, cherry tomatoes splitting or turning black, and eggplants losing their shine and becoming tough.

While the eggplants were still in abundance at my local farmers market, I have to imagine that the record heat and unsellable produce is going to result in price hikes or scarcity eventually. 

Koyama told NHK that he's had to discard 20 to 30 percent of his vegetables before harvest, and last month alone that added up to a whopping 50 to 60 kilograms. Some of the produce that was still edible was sold at a discount or donated to facilities providing free meals to children, so there's a silver lining at least.

As an expat living in a rural area surrounded by farmland, it's striking to see how extreme weather directly affects food availability here, and it's clear that these crop losses are going to end up impacting our wallets eventually. Over the past year, we've already seen price increases for staples like rice and cabbage, and this summer's heat may push prices on other vegetables higher as well.

Article via NHK: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250805_21/