Masanobu Fukuoka

Who was Masanobu Fukuoka?

Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures, from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly referred to as "Natural Farming" or "Do-nothing Farming".

Fukuoka was the author of several Japanese books, scientific papers and other publications, and was featured in television documentaries and interviews from the 1970s onwards. His influences went beyond farming to inspire individuals within the natural food and lifestyle movements. He was an outspoken advocate of the value of observing nature's principles.

Famous Quotes:

• My ultimate dream is to sow seeds in the desert. To revegetate the deserts is to sow seed in people's hearts.
• ...The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.
• PART 2 THE ROAD TO NATURAL FARMING [page 197] ... D. From Organic Farming to Natural Farming [page 205] In the future, American agriculture will probably grow even larger on business capital, but on the other hand, people who are inclined to using natural methods will probably progress from organic to natural farming. The problem, however, is that the distinction between organic and natural farming is still not generally understood. Of course, scientific farming and organic farming are not that different, and fundamentally both can be called scientific. Consequently, the boundary between them is unclear. The major objective of the international conference I attended on this [1986] visit to the U.S. was to assess the current world situation and to determine in which direction to move in the future. In more concrete terms, the goal was to examine how various farming methods now being practised, such as permaculture, organic farming, and other methods based on new ideas, relate to each other and to what extent they can act in concert. I may just be feathering my own nest, but as far as I can see, the only way is to follow the road back to nature, bearing in mind an Oriental natural philosophy. I believe that in doing this, we will establish techniques that go beyond our present technology. Although this philosophy still takes various forms and names, it is clear that the thought underlying it is my "Green Philosophy" as I described it in The One–Straw Revolution. It is fine to turn gradually from organic farming onto the road that leads to anti-scientific farming. It is fine to set our sights on farming that perpetuates itself infinitely and on a return to nature, even while enjoying life on a designed farm. But these must not end up as microscopic techniques and should not be used as temporary fads. Even though we have these at our command, at the core there must be a natural philosophy, in order to establish a farming method that will become the great principle of an agriculture that continues infinitely.
• The greening of the desert means sowing seeds in people's hearts and creating a green paradise of peace on earth.
• One thing is all things. To resolve one matter, one must resolve all matters. Changing one thing changes all things. Once I made the decision to sow rice in the fall, I found that I could also stop transplanting, and plowing, and applying chemical fertilizers, and preparing compost, and spraying pesticides.