The Reason I Wanted to Go into Agriculture

The reason I wanted to go into agriculture is that I wanted to make sure hungry children could eat their fill.

It goes without saying that Japan is a wealthier country than many others.

With welfare systems in place, there is no doubt that fewer people die of starvation here than in other countries.

However, even in such a Japan, children from poor families cannot eat their fill.

Today, I would like to share a story from when I was a university student.

I worked part-time at a fresh fish shop for six years during my undergraduate and graduate studies.

The shop was about 13 square meters in size, with an image like a fishmonger from the Showa era (though I was born in the Heisei era, so this is just my impression). Fish were displayed at the storefront without being bagged, and the style was for customers to put the fish they wanted into bags and bring them to the register.

One day, an elderly woman of about 70 and two sisters, aged around 8 and 10, came to the shop.

The sisters looked terrible; both were wearing white dresses, but they were tattered and stained with black dirt in places.

It seemed they hadn't been able to bathe, as I could see dirt on their faces.

Furthermore, their bodies were thin, their bones were slightly protruding, and they looked listless.

After the three of them consulted with each other right by the entrance of the shop, the sisters came inside.

After looking around the shop for a bit, the sisters looked at the assorted tempura next to the register and began calculating the price including tax. This was back in the days when it was still possible to display prices excluding tax.

That assorted tempura was a collection of irregular items, priced at 298 yen (excluding tax) for 500g.

Once they finished their calculation, they went back to the grandmother waiting outside to ask if they could buy it.

At that moment, I realized that these children were so poor that they had to calculate the tax-included price for a 300-yen item, that they couldn't even take a bath, and that they weren't able to eat enough, which made me feel sad.

After getting the grandmother's approval, they returned to the shop and lined up at the register.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should buy something for these children.

At that exact moment, the side dishes were half-price, costing about 150 yen, and I thought that if I bought that for them, it might fill their stomachs a little.

However, in the end, I did nothing at that time, telling myself that I had no obligation to do such a thing for a complete stranger.

It wasn't as if there were other customers in line at the register; it was a quiet time of day.

At that time, I was a rational and selfish person. I thought that even if I reached out to help today, they wouldn't have food for tomorrow. I believed it was pointless to do such a thing.

And so, the sisters and the grandmother left.

After they had gone, I felt a deep, simmering sadness and anger toward myself, and I regretted doing nothing.

At the same time, somewhere in my heart, I was surprised by this reaction.

I had thought of myself as a rational and selfish person.

I was raised that way, and the people around me were like that too.

Most of the people around me at that time would not do anything for others unless there was some kind of reward.

I was the same.

They say that birds of a feather flock together, and I think people similar to me had gathered around me.

I thought that was normal.

However, surprisingly, it seems I cannot stand the thought of innocent children not being able to eat enough food.

I hadn't even thought I had such a side to me, so I was also a little happy.

Fortunately, this incident became an opportunity for me to get to know myself.

It seems I had a kind side after all, haha.

This experience led me to start donating, something I had never done before.

At first, I didn't have much money either, so it was only about 1,000 yen a month.

The amount has changed, but I still continue to donate today.

This matter also became the reason I started farming.

I thought about donating a portion of the crops I grew through farming.

Recently, I have been involved in activities to donate harvested crops to children's cafeterias.

My strength is as feeble as a dwarf's, but I hope that even a little bit, it can bring a smile to the faces of hungry children.

I have only just begun, so there is still a long way to go, but I intend to do my very best.

Thank you very much for reading until the end♪