TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Japan-agriculture-food-rice, FEATURE by Natsuko FUKUE
In this photo taken on August 31, 2018 Japanese farmer Mayumi Oya walks with a sickle on a rice paddy in Kazo city, Saitama prefecture. - A crop once deemed so important it served as a form of currency, Japanese rice has fallen out of favour with younger, westernised consumers, in a shift that has left ageing farmers struggling for survival. Rice consumption has nearly halved over the past 50 years, and as the older generation of farmers and consumers dies out, some fear the industry will be unable to hold its own in a competitive global market. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Japan-agriculture-food-rice, FEATURE by Natsuko FUKUE