Pecan project in Rikuzentakata to revitalise disaster-hit farmland

Golden Pecan Inc., the city of Rikuzentakata, and The University of Tokyo are collaborating in a project to establish a domestic pecan nut industry in Rikuzentakata, an area affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The project has successfully achieved its first harvest and ready to showcase at the Expo 2025 Osaka.

The project is led by chocolate manufacturer Salon de Royal, which aims to revitalise abandoned agricultural land and create a sustainable industry for the region. It began in 2017 as a response to the increase in abandoned farmland and the loss of employment opportunities following the disaster.

Project partners identified the pecan nut as a viable crop for long-term, sustainable agriculture. Pecan trees require minimal labour, making them manageable for an ageing farming population, and can produce harvests for over 200 years.

In 2020, test cultivation of 90 trees across nine different varieties began in two locations within Rikuzentakata to determine the most suitable for the local climate. The project uses modern technology, including drones, to monitor crop growth. This year, the efforts resulted in the project’s first successful harvest.

In 2022, Golden Pecan opened the Salon de Royal Takata Honten, a facility that includes a processing factory. The company also develops upcycled products, such as tea made from pecan shells. A year later, it introduced Japan’s first automatic pecan shelling machine to improve processing efficiency.

The project will be presented at the Expo 2025 Osaka as “a model case that embodies the dual achievement of disaster recovery and agricultural revival.” The exhibition will showcase the potential for “domestic agricultural revitalisation and regional creation through pecans,” and to create a forum for discussing the future of agriculture and regional communities.