APNAN NEWS 20(2) final 2 NEWS 20(2).pdf · “In recent years, human health has been affected by residual poisons in the food that is consumed. Health budgets of nations are spent

“In recent years, human health has been affected by residual poisons in the food that is consumed. Health budgets ofnations are spent on diseases caused by the consumption of polluted food and thus the demand for natural food isgrowing due to its non-polluted nature. Nature Farming offers hope in this venture – as produce from this technologyis non-polluted, tastes better and have a longer shelf life. They are good even for very ill people. Thus the promotionof Nature Farming will help humankind lead a better life in a clean environment.”

(Mokichi Okada 1882 – 1955)(Adapted from the appendices of the Book Johrei, Divine Light of Salvation)

APNAN issponsored by

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EMRO

Asia Pacific Natural Agriculture NetworkAsia Pacific Natural Agriculture NetworkAsia Pacific Natural Agriculture NetworkAsia Pacific Natural Agriculture NetworkAsia Pacific Natural Agriculture Network

APNAN NEWSAPNAN NEWSAPNAN NEWSAPNAN NEWSAPNAN NEWS 20(2)20th Anniversary Edition20th Anniversary Edition20th Anniversary Edition20th Anniversary Edition20th Anniversary Edition

INFRC

ASIA PACIFIC NATURAL AGRICULTURE NETWORK……….

APNAN, the little network, huddled within the Kularb Apartment in Saphankhwai, Bangkok, Thailand, was firstestablished in 1989 with 13 member nations, and funded by the International Nature Farming Research Center, Atami,Japan, through the generous support of the Sekai Kyusei Kyo, Japan and Thailand. The mandate given at its inceptionwas to elucidate the scientific basis and validity of Nature Farming and the technology of Effective Microorganisms(EM), which was integrated into the concepts of Nature Farming.From small beginnings, the network moved on to facilitate research, information, producing EM, advising all interestedon Nature Farming and training people from all walks of life. The network helped organize major conferences on KyuseiNature Farming in four continents and was instrumental in presenting the identity of Nature Farming at internationalfora such as the IFOAM conferences. The network was also responsible for planting seeds of interest on the technologyof Effective Microorganisms in all continents of the world and today EM is being blended into even chemical systemsto reduce pollution to help preserve the environment for future generations, as advocated by Mokichi Okada, thefounder of Nature Farming principles.The network also provides training on Nature Farming and EM technology to interested groups, using the excellentfacilities offered at Sara Buri Nature Farming Center, managed by the Sekai Kyusei Kyo of Thailand. Information isdisseminated, and the Newsletter produced thrice a year among a readership spanning all continents.The network is run by a few staff and volunteers and is very efficient in its management of resources. Today it issponsored by the EM Research Organization of Okinawa, the INFRC of Japan and is supported by the Sekai KyuseiKyo of Japan and Thailand.

All interested in the work of the network – please contact its office at

APNAN,Kularb Apartment, 29 Soi Suparat, Phahonyothin Road,Samsennai, Phayathai, Bangkok 10400 Thailand.

Phone: +66 2 272 7061 Fax : +66 2 616 6022 Email : [email protected]: www.apnan.org

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Volume 20 (2) Special issue


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FROM THE EDITOR’S PEN…………….

A NEW BEGINNING AS WE LOOKAHEAD…….APNAN, the little network, based in a alley inSapankhwai in Bangkok, Thailand, is 20 yearsold!!!! Can you just imagine what it feels like tobe associated with an organization, that is so smalland insignificant, that it even does not catch theeyes and attention of other similar networks, likea mustard seed in a pot of stew, but its activitiesover 20 years have spanned the globe to spreadNature Farming and EM Technology in allcontinents? This is what we have achievedthrough this period of two decades – throughdiligence, effective management (EM!!) and careand concern towards all who seek our help,through low but highly efficient systems ofoperations. APNAN was founded on a theme ofscientifically validating Nature Farming and EMTechnology in the mandate region. The foundingfathers from 13 (A lucky number!!) nationsranging from Pakistan eastwards through Asiainto the east coast of the USA had visions of ashort lifespan for this network. However, ourwork became successful each year to expand theoperations to almost all nations of Asia. Theexpectations where EM was not made were PapuaNew Guinea and Brunei in Asia, although we tookEM to these nations as well. We also engulfedthe biggies of Oceania, namely Australia and NewZealand, who have taken EM to the island nationsaround them. What was more was that ouractivities in the region and beyond made us planteffective seeds of our technologies in allcontinents – and even today we do help out inthe non mandate areas of Europe, Latin, Centraland North Americas and Africa. No meeting onEM is complete without an input from this littlenetwork – as it has the capacity for organization,management and even to provide scientificbackground to such events. Looking back overtime, we can easily state that we have made NatureFarming and EM Technology popular in mostorganic forums internationally. The mostsuccessful has been the roads we made intoIFOAM, who earlier ridiculed our work, but todayaccepts our research and progress forpresentation at their international conferences. Wehave placed the literature on web sites and searchengines; we have developed blogs and most

importantly helped humankind all over with careand concern and always with a smile on our faces.This has been our success – Modesty andmoderation at all times.As the editor penned in the last newsletter – havewe been successful in all aspects? The replyunfortunately is No! We still have to move forwardin providing scientific validation – of thetechnologies. We have demonstrated that bothNature Farming and EM work in all aspects in allenvironments in a holistic manner, and now after20 years, which is not a long time, whencompared to the development of othertechnologies, we have achieved something. Nowthe onus is on us to validate these examples byresearch and extension, to convince the dogmaticand skeptical world that this is science and natureacting. We all know that nature works in a hiddenway – at times, it is so unpredictable. We considerNature Farming, which attempts to emulate Naturein providing healthy food for humankind, also tobehave in a similar manner – and more so EM,which is a mixture of microbes. Thus researchon this aspect is difficult and complex, and mostimportantly, very expensive!! The budget we haveis not significant – but with the grace of god andthe support of our sponsors and colleagues, weare taking steps to do this important job in a solidmanner. If one checks the Web of Knowledge,we find many research papers citing the successof EM in respected internationally cited Journals.We also find papers stating that the use of EM isnot harmful to the environment. This is indeedheartening and we hope that we will be able tocompile them in the future.Our journey through the 20 years has not beeneasy – we have had our triumphs and somesignificant disappointments. The latter has alwaysbeen associated with unscrupulous people, whodid not realize the vision of Nature Farming andEM Technology. These were gifts to humanityby great people – and are components of humanitythat cannot be exploited for personal gains. We atAPNAN never did it – and those who were afterfinancial and personal benefits dropped off alongthe way – this was nature acting against thoseworking against its philosophy!! However thesepeople, some eminent in their respective countriestoday have resorted to imitations and arestruggling to break through – half-heartedly!However, we go on, we have had problems with


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budgets, people and facilities – but there wasalways a silver lining in the dark clouds, a rainbowshowing us the pathway and hence we havemanaged to overcome all these obstacles andcontinue our journey of promoting NatureFarming and EM for the last 20 years in a verysuccessful manner.At the end of 20 years – and at the beginning ofa new era, we at APNAN extend a lending handto all – friends and adversaries. Nature Farmingand EM acts in a manner of co-existence andco-prosperity. Thus we do request at this time toall those who now produce imitations – let’s mendfences and work together – the working of agreater team is strength – United we are strong,divided we fall – (we even may say you fall!) –As many have shown. We have the real productand the real technology – we will accept anyonejoining our fold – we have done it and will continueto do so – Thus our appeal, made from the centerof our hearts through goodwill and friendship is– let us get together again to work with NatureFarming and EM in their real true holistic fashionto make this world a better place for humankind.Thus dear friends – let us adopt the real NatureFarming and EM technologies and not theimitations of EM and its synonyms – It’s oursponsors the INFRC and EMRO and us who havethe real things – let’s bury the hatchets ofcompetition and work in co-existence and co-prosperity for the next 20 or more years to helphumanity enjoy a healthy life while leaving behinda clean environment for the future generations.At the end of 20 years – do we throw a big party?No dear friends – we will not! That is not ourstyle – but yes, we will gather to discuss theway forward, and rectify the faults that we have.We are all human and we have our faults – Weask for forgiveness from those who were affectedby our lapses and faults – we will meet and getdirections from our sponsors – both INFRC andEMRO – and ask the important question – wheredo you see APNAN going in the next 20 years!!This is what we will do – and not just wastemoney on parties, which we can put to betteruse – However this does mean that we are mean- we will at least have a meal together to laughand enjoy and reminisce about the past and lookto the future.As we celebrate 20 years ofexistence – we at APNAN feel that we are afortunate lot! Most of our contacts over the years

have been honest and have complied with ouraspirations and objectives. We have beenfortunate to have INFRC and EMRO sponsor us– and we owe them a deep sense of gratitude.Thus we say Thank you to our sponsors – TheInternational Nature Farming Research Center inAtami, Japan, EM Research Organization inOkinawa,– and the Sekai Kyusei Kyo of Thailand,and it’s President, Revd Daiho Kasahara forguidance, advice, support and very importantlyfor allowing us to use their facility at Sara Buri –the Paradise on Earth. We offer our deep gratitudeto Mr. Kanit Muangnil and his able assistantMasanobu Sakurai, who help us with conductingworkshops, trainings and with visitors. We alsomake a special mention of Ms. Keiko Nakazawa,the ex accountant of Sekai Kyusei Kyo ofThailand, who helped us in numerous ways andwas a mother to the young lads and ladiesworking here at APNAN, away from theirfamilies. To all of them - as the smiling Thais say– Kop Kun Krap!Our little network humbly wishes to express itsdeep gratitude to Rev. Tetsuo Watanabe,President of Sekai Kyusei Kyo and Rev. ShoKobayashi, Head of the EM Laboratory and Boardmember of Sekai Kyusei Kyo, for their everwilling support - Their advice is valuable to us –Although at times we may be at fault for notadhering to their requirements, we value theirjudgment and are ever grateful for their presenceat times of need. Thus, as we promote NatureFarming as advocated by Mokichi Okada, werequest them to help and guide us at all times.Our heartfelt gratitude is extended to the genialRev. K. Amano, Chairman, Board of Directorsof INFRC, Mr. T. Harakawa, Senior ManagingDirector of INFRC, Mr. J. Yuzuriha, ManagingDirector, Mr. A. Ito, Manager Extension Divisionof INFRC and Mr. H. Okubo, Head of theInternational Section of INFRC for their adviceand support – both in terms of staff and funds.We say a hearty thank you to Mr. KatsuyukiAsato, President and Board of Directors of EMResearch Organization in Okinawa for theirincreasing support and advice – without this, wewould surely close!! We also offer our respectsand heartfelt gratitude to our dear PresidentProfessor. Dr. Teruo and Madam Setsuko Higafor their omnipresence – their guidance andsupport is a primary source of strength to us.


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APNAN is also grateful to its ex senior technicalofficers and other officers who have been withus for short or long periods for their contact andguidance – we have helped them to be what theyare – and hence they are family to us.At present, the little network is managed by theever smiling Jun Matsumoto, who along withfour others shoulders the responsibilities of doingthe work of APNAN. They do it well and in a realfriendly and brotherly way – in harmony like themicrobes in EM and the components of asuccessful natural ecosystem. We also have thehelping hand of Ms Silpakul (Ms O) theadministrative assistant to do our job verysuccessfully – APNAN is successful todaybecause of their dedication to their task.At the end of it all, the editor, who has pennedthis newsletter for 20 long years is happy – thatAPNAN is successful. The editor (whoever it maybe) is smiling, looking back over the past 20 years– happy to be able to survive this long and– whenalmost all of the founding members are no longerwith us – that perseverance and goodwill hashelped this path – amidst all other tasks that isentrusted - not be bothered about the trivialitiesthat rocked the network, and even sit down on aSaturday morning to finish off this very specialnewsletter which to some extent records thehistory of APNAN – with a clear conscience andclean heart.Thus on behalf of all at APNAN – the editorpledges to keep going as long as the services arerequired – as working at APNAN is a privilegeand something done with modesty and voluntarily.Hence dear friends – we will keep going as longas we are wanted – on a very low budget asalways!As we trend the path of the 20th year we atAPNAN state that we are with the world andhumanity andWISH ALL THOSE WORKING WITH US – AVERY SUCCESSFUL FUTURE!APNAN, Bangkok, ThailandJuly, 2009

The Cover page presents in a clockwise directionbeginning from the top left – Our four offices –St. Louis Soi 2, Thaninthorn village Rang Sit,Monririn Building Sapankhwai and our presenthome – Kularb Apartment respectively.

A selection of our activities

Arranging conferences

Working with farmers

Networking in the region

Meeting VIPs


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INSPIRATION FROM OUR DEARPRESIDENT, PROFESSOR DR TERUO HIGA

The Asia PacificN a t u r a lA g r i c u l t u r a lN e t w o r k(APNAN) wasestablished inresponse to theearnest requestby many eminents c i e n t i s t s ,spearheaded bythose from theDepartment ofAgriculture of the

United States of America, who attended the FirstInternational Conference on Kyusei NatureFarming, held in Khon Kaen, Thailand in October,1989. This was the first time that an internationalgathering discussed Kyusei Nature Farming andtechnology of Effective Microorganisms (EM) thelatter, which was developed by me and given tothe world. The scientists were amazed at thepotential and thus requested the formation of anetwork (APNAN) to scientifically validate thetechnologies and spread it in the region. This ledto many amazing things – the most importantbeing that with significant support and assistancefrom the Asian Human Resource Center of NatureFarming at Sara Buri in Thailand, which ismanaged as a paradise on Earth by the SekaiKyusei Kyo of the Royal Kingdom, APNANaccepted thousands of people over the last 20years from Thailand, the Asia Pacific region andalso from other continents, especially Europe, totrain them on Nature Farming and EM and thereal sustainable way of agriculture andenvironmental management.APNAN is an exceptional network - specialists inNature Farming and EM are stationed at theHeadquarters of APNAN in Bangkok, to managethe overseas programs and take swift action tomeet demands from member and even non-member nations – thus the work of the networkis highly appreciated globally. Moreover, APNANhas forged very close links with manyinternational organizations, especially theInternational Federation of Organic AgricultureMovements (IFOAM) to take the technologiespromoted by APNAN to the wider organic world.

This led to the popularization of the technologiesamong the organic world on an international scale.APNAN has made steady progress, spreadingNature Farming and EM and supportinggovernments and more importantly resource poorfarmers who cultivate small allotments with scareresources – which was the initial objective ofAPNAN. These achievements are now knownthroughout the world, and EM Technology isregarded as an integral factor in the state supportfor the poor farmers of nations such as Myanmarand Peru. Thus, I am aware that over a millionhouseholds in Latin America and similar numbersin Asia and even in Africa and Europe make useof EM as a clear and successful solution toenvironmental issues, a supportive addition toorganic farming and in the poorer nations, apossible solution to food scarcity. Theseachievements have been possible due to thediligent activities of APNAN, which is workingunder my guidance. The old prejudices andmisunderstandings that EM is not safe are nowover, thanks to the pioneers who walked the hardroad with APNAN to overcome these obstacles.Today EM and Nature Farming are appreciatedglobally.It is with happiness and contentment that I sendthis message to the special issue of the Newsletterdeveloped for its 20th anniversary - It is aninternational network, developed with vision andwith diligence, primarily on a volunteer basis. Itsachievements have been many and mistakes – afew. We are overcoming these mistakes andbuilding on our achievements.I take this opportunity to express my sincerethanks to the International Nature FarmingResearch Center and the Sekai Kyusei KyoMovement of Atami, Japan, also of Thailand,which has been supporting APNAN, and to theEM Research Organization for its initiatives inpromoting the activities of the network. I wouldalso fail in my duty if I fail to mention thehardworking people who have toiled away behindthe scenes from the inception of the network tobring it to its current status. To all of them, Ioffer by gratitude and wish the network the verybest for its future. I on my part do assure APNANthat I will strive to do my best to provide guidanceto further expand the activities of APNAN tohumankind.


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MESSAGES OF FELICITATION FROM OURSPONSORSMESSAGE OF THE MOST REV. TETSUOWATANABE, PRESIDENT SEKAI KYUSEIKYO IZUNOME JAPAN…..The Asia Pacific Natural Agriculture Network

(APNAN) wasestablished in1989, at the FirstI n t e r n a t i o n a lKyusei NatureF a r m i n gConference, andhas been active for20 years inpromoting NatureFarming ande n v i r o n m e n t a lmanagement in themandate region. I

am pleased that APNAN has had significantsuccess in this venture. Hence I am very happythat APNAN has passed the twenty year markwith great success and do appreciate the peoplewho are actively involved in this network inpromoting Nature Farming. Today, humans facea great crisis in food, health and environment.Mokichi Okada, who foresaw these problems,established Nature Farming and advocated it forthe creation of happiness of humans. Thus,Mokichi Okada explained the methods of solvingthese problems faced by humanity through NatureFarming. I hope that activities of APNAN, whichpromote and spread Nature Farming, will begin anew pathway from now, to spread this methodof farming to the whole world and help humanityto lead a better and wholesome life in a cleanenvironment.I wish APNAN the very best for its futureendeavors in spreading Nature Farming tohumankind.

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE FROM REVKIYOSHI AMANOChairman, Board of Directors, InternationalNature Farming Research Center, Atami,JapanIt is twenty years since the Asia Pacific NaturalAgriculture Network (APNAN) has beenestablished – with the support of the organizationwhich I head and that of Sekai Kyusei Kyo of

Japan andThailand. Thesuccess andprosperity of thisnetwork has beenachieved due tothe efforts ofmany who havebeen associatedwith the networkfrom its humblebeginnings in1989, its staff andall the people in the countries affiliated with theNetwork and its activities. I express my gratitudeto all of them and share my pleasure to greet themon this momentous occasion.APNAN has achieved significant success in NatureFarming and environmental purification with theuse of EM. When the current situation of ourworld, which is full of problems, is taken intoconsideration, there is no doubt that APNAN willneed to play a greater and much more significantrole in overcoming these problems. We thusshould think of this year as the second beginningof our project and take a vigorous step forward,taking this 20th anniversary as the source ofmotivation.Modern societies are now at a turning point,where we its incumbents are forced to pay greaterattention to nature and its components, rather thanto economic systems, which lays emphasis onmaterialism and consumerism. Hence, we haveto retrieve the natural way of living, by convertingthe conventional chemical methods of producingfood to the natural way of farming – i.e. NatureFarming as advocated by Mokichi Okada.This must be done with a positive attitude as doneby our ancestors who were very successful inproducing abundant food of good quality.Thus, I wish this little network the very best forits future and state our willing of our organizationto support its activities in the best possible way.Congratulations APNAN – you have done usproud and we look forward to a greater andbrighter future.

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A MESSAGE FROM REV. DAIHOKASAHARA, PRESIDENT, SEKAI KYUSEIKYO, THAILANDI send this congratulatory message on the

occasion of the20th anniversaryof the Asia PacificN a t u r a lA g r i c u l t u r eNetwork, withwhich the SekaiKyusei Kyo ofThailand and Ihave beenassociated fromits inception. Theidea of a newcivilization for the

21st century, advocated by Mokichi Okada in the20th century has been applied to various field oflife including religion, politics, economics, medicalsciences, education, art and agriculture, as wellas mental and spiritual evolution and development.The outstanding concepts and ideas of MokichiOkada have been making significant contributionsto the construction and development of an idealsociety, which is complete with peace andhappiness. APNAN has worked towards thisobjective and we at the Headquarters of SekaiKyusei Kyo in Thailand, have a very high respectfor the activities of this network, due to its plans,mode of activity and developing systems aimingat environmental protection and sufficient supplyof safe food, based on the idea of safe and healthylife, as advocated by the great philosopher,Mokichi Okada. Hence, the network is doing aservice to humanity and we will offer our fullestsupport and cooperation to help the activities ofthis modest network in cooperation with all thosewho share the wish that APNAN should prosperto work for the welfare of humanity in the futureyears.

MESSAGE FROM KATSUYUKI ASATO,PRESIDENT, EM RESEARCHORGANIZATION, OKINAWA, JAPANI offer the sincere and heartfelt congratulationsof EM ResearchOrgan iza t ionand myself, onthe occasion ofthe 20thanniversary ofAPNAN. Icordially thankall those whohave supportedthis organizationfrom itsinception, tobring it to its present status.Today over 35% of the EM supplied all over theworld is manufactured in the Asia Pacific region,which is the mandate area for APNAN. Theadvanced activities taking place has become amodel for other regions as it is working a drivingforce behind the spread of EM Technology on aglobal scale. Today, due to the activities ofAPNAN, EM is not only used in the field ofagriculture and environmental remediation, but inmany other fields. Among these, the use of EMTechnology in day-to-day sanitation and foodprocessing are clear examples of the effectivenessof APNAN’s activities. Moreover, there are manymodels of effective cost control and activationby using EM in Governmental organizations, Non-Governmental programs, educational institutions,private sector organizations and local governingauthorities.As the incumbent President of the EM ResearchOrganization, I do pledge that our organizationwill continue to bolster the support for research,development and promotion of EM, while fulfillingthe responsibility of providing a stable supply ofhigh quality EM through APNAN and itscooperation with partners of the contact nations.On behalf of EMRO, I wish APNAN many moreyears of successful operations and pledge oursupport and sponsorship to this humble and littlenetwork, which is showing the way of effectivenetworking through cooperation, consensus andcoordination.


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ONCE UPON A TIME …………….1989 ….. October 17 – 21 – this is when it allbegan!!!In the city of Khon Kaen in Northeastern Thailand,a gathering took place at the Khon Kaen Hotel –of scientists from 13 nations, to hear of KyuseiNature Farming and EM Technology at the FirstInternational Conference on Kyusei NatureFarming. The concepts of Nature Farming were

advocated by Mokichi Okada in the 1930’s as apossible solution to overcome the potentialproblems of intensive chemical farming, and EMTechnology, developed in Okinawa by ProfessorDr. Teruo Higa of the University of the Ryukyus,to enhance the efficacy of Nature Farming.It was a gathering of great and not so great minds.Heavyweights, such as those from the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, the AgriculturalUniversity of Faisalabad, Universiti Pertanian,Malaysia, Khon Kaen University, Thailand and theHaryana Agricultural University of India were allthere with smaller fry from other nations. Theparticipants presented activities on organicfarming in their nations, and discussed theusefulness of Nature Farming and EM in theirrespective environments.The participants discussed the prospects in threetechnical committees and on 21st October 1989,a network was created (as stated in the firstnewsletter dated January – April, 1990), with thefinancial support of the International NatureFarming Research Center (INFRC) of Atami,Japan. The founding members were from 13nations – within the mandate region from Pakistan,moving east via India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, ontoPhilippines, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and ending upwith the USA. The objectives of the Network,named Asia Pacific Natural Agriculture Network

(APNAN) as stated by the pledge were :- To leadto eliminating dependence on synthetic agriculturalchemicals, To be based on local agro ecologicalconditions, To assist small farmers to enhanceincomes and To lead to self reliance on the partof farmers in a sustainable agricultural system.The network elected Prof. Dr. Teruo Higa as thepresident, with Associate Professor. Dr. ChaitatPairintra of Thailand as its Coordinator, Dr. TahirHussain of Pakistan as Co-coordinator and Dr.J.F. Parr and S. Hornick of the USA and Dr. T.Santawisuk of Thailand as technical advisors.The headquarters of the network was based inBangkok, in a cozy alley of the up market suburb,at 1/4 St Louis Soi 2, Sathorn Road, Bangkok10120. This was the hub and the office locatedin an apartment served as a place where memberscould rest when in Bangkok and was managedby the Coordinator. The work of the network asoriginally envisaged was to disseminateinformation of Nature Farming and EMTechnology on the basis of research anddevelopments by members and associates,coordinate activities related to holding meetingsand workshops, and maintain dialogue withmembers through a newsletter.The conference ended with the founding ofAPNAN, which was a landmark event for boththe INFRC and the Sekai Kyusei Kyo of Japanand Thailand. The participants then traveled bybus – to Sara Buri, en route to Bangkok, to visitthe Sara Buri Nature Farm, which was just beinginitiated by the Sekai Kyusei Kyo. Thereafter itwas to Bangkok, to stay in 5 star comfort at theCentral Plaza Hotel, and be entertained to Thaihospitality by the Sekai Kyusei Kyo at theirheadquarters in Sapankhwai and for all membersto receive 4 liters of EM 1 with a recipe to makethe real EM 4 (as it was then called) through aprocess of fermentation.It is with affection and humor that this event isrecalled after 20 years. The EM given at that timewas left behind by many, whose nations are nowmajor users of the technology and promotingNature Farming!! However the important thingwas the establishment of APNAN, initially for 5years to test the usefulness of EM. Today after20 years, we are still here, more active than ever!!THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF ANINTERESTING JOURNEY WITHIN A SMALLNETWORK!!

Prof. Higa speaks at the conference


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THE NETWORK DEVELOPS…APNAN started off with a Bang!! The firstobjectives were to test the feasibility of adoptingNature Farming and the efficacy in the 13 membernations and funds for this were provided by

INFRC, with the generous contribution andassistance from the Sekai Kyusei Kyo Izunomeof Japan. The first meeting of the steeringcommittee was held in Atami, Japan in 1990, tocoincide with the Osaka flower show. At thismeeting, the plans for research were drawn upand work initiated with enthusiasm.Changes were already happening within thenetwork and its steering committee even beforewe completed one year!!!Our colleague from the Philippines dropped outclaiming the lack of financial benefits!!! It wasfun to observe eminent scientists clamoring forgreater share of funds from a volunteerorganization, to which they pledged support only7 months earlier!! However, the work progressedand the first opportunity for presenting some workcame in 1991, when the Second InternationalKyusei Nature Farming Conference was held in

Brazil at theUniversity ofSão Paulo,P i r a c i c a b aand organizedby the SekaiKyusei Kyo ofBrazil. Thiswas the firstoccasion that

coordinated work was discussed, although somemembers of APNAN could not attend because ofVisa problems.The second steering committee meeting was alsoheld in Kuala Lumpur in 1991, hosted by ourmember based at the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia.

The progress was discussed and many newavenues of development were planned. 1991 wasalso a year of developments where the Ministryof Education in Myanmar developed an action planto research and expand Nature Farming and EM.The only lady member of the steering committeeDr. Cho Cho Myint who was at the AgriculturalUniversity at Yezin initiated this project cooperationof the then Minister of Education. This was thefirst agreement that was drawn up betweenAPNAN, INFRC and a foreign government to testand promote Nature Farming and EM.While developments were taking place in therespective regions, APNAN was active insupporting international activities of INFRC,which was our principal sponsor. We moved ouroffice to Thaninthorn Village in Rangsit, Bangkok,within 10 minutes from the Don Muang Airport,in late 1992. In fact, we could see planes landing– when VIPs were traveling into Bangkok, wewould leave the office to meet them when theaircraft was arriving into the runway!!!!In terms of management, Steering Committeemeetings were held in Brazil in 1991 and in SriLanka in 1992. In terms of our projects, researchwas being developed in Pakistan with theestablishment of the Nature Farming ResearchCenter at the Faisalabad University and theIndonesian Kyusei Nature Farming Society in Bali.New countries such as Vietnam and Nepal werejoining in.The networkorganized EMTechnologyconferencesin Thailandfor middleorder staff ofthe respectivec o u n t r i e s ,and played anactive part in presenting papers at manyinternational forums. However it was the ThirdInternational Conference on Kyusei NatureFarming, held in Santa Barbara, USA in 1993 sawsigns of change within the network.The network had an EM Technology Conferencein 1993 in Sara Buri and thereafter the wholestructure underwent a significant overhaul – whenthe coordinator Dr. Chaitat Pairintra decided toretire from active service to the network.

APNAN members in Atami

Steering Committee inMalaysia

The meeting in SriLanka


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This change saw the shift in office, back toBangkok, to Sapankhwai, to a newly constructedapartment – our home in Kularb Apartments,which also had living quarters, in December 1993.We took the entire 8th floor of the apartment, wherethe office was located in room 802, and livingquarters in the other 4 rooms. It is often recalledwith affection that the first night in Kularb wasspent on a tatami mat on the floor just in oneroom, with a heap of furniture and a small fan tokeep the only occupant company!! The networkhad no phone, no computer or faxes and mostimportantly, no staff!!! It was to be managed bya part time volunteer worker, who had to fly infor 3 hours from a nation nearby! These weretrying times – we were totally dependant on thegenerosity and assistance of the Sekai Kyusei Kyoof Thailand. We were wondering if we couldsustain the efforts and activities in this haphazardmanner – but the support and encouragementwere received from the INFRC, and especiallyfrom the late Rev. Kazuo Wakugami, President ofSekai Kyusei Kyo of Thailand and of course byour dear President Professor. Dr. Higa and MadamHiga made us go along – purely on a volunteerbasis. We had people of the caliber of Ohashi san,who was seconded to the Thai office of SekaiKyusei Kyo and was from INFRC to help us. Wewill never forget the long nights of discussions,the walks back at midnight to Kularb after workingat the SKK office in Thailand, which was 15minutes by foot – avoiding the nasty street dogsroaming at that time!!1994 saw further developments and consolidationof the network. We received Mr. Masaki Shintanias our first technical officer. Shintani san, a rawMasters graduate from the lab of Prof. Dr Higacame and took over APNAN. This was a reliefand he had some great ideas. This gaveencouragement – and this could be stated as thebeginning of the new APNAN!!!In 1994, we made contacts with New Zealandand very importantly with IFOAM, theinternational body coordinating activities of organicfarming on a global scale. APNAN held its steeringcommittee meeting in Korea and also an EMTechnology Conference in Thailand. New nationswere joining in – such as Bhutan, Lao PDR andMaldives and even Australia, North Korea. Wewere covering the whole of Asia with the exceptionof Brunei, Papua New Guinea and Cambodia!!

1994 was also asignificant year asthe EM ResearchOrganization wasestablished inJapan – andbecame a sponsorof APNAN, asthe INFRC hadsupported thenetwork for 5years. Theestablishment of EMRO saw an influx of youngstudents and trainees from both INFRC andEMRO – our sponsors to date, who entrustedAPNAN to train them in international activities, afunction that we do even today, 20 years downthe road!!In 1995, the Fourth International Kyusei NatureFarming Conference was held in Paris, France.This was again a point of change – as APNANwas entrusted to organize this. We had moretechnical staff and Shintani san took over asSenior Technical Officer. They were busytraveling making EM in the member nations – and

our dear President, Prof. Dr. Higa, accompaniedby members from APNAN and INFRC (especiallyMr. Okubo) were busy touring the worldpromoting Nature Farming through EM.The Fourth International Kyusei Nature FarmingConference held in Paris was one of immensesuccess – APNAN broke the bonds that wererestricting them releasing information, due to longdelays of publications. APNAN also got thepresident of IFOAM, Mr. Herve la Prairie to chairthis conference!!! This was the seed forconsolidating and expanding Nature Farming andEM activity in Europe –which is in the limelighttoday!! The steering committee was also held atthat time and it was indeed a heated meeting - but

APNAN meets the BhutaneseMinister

The Paris Conference


12

we persevered and of course, the truth and justicewon.The last of the steering committee meetings wereheld in 1996, and it was decided to disband thisas it had become defunct. APNAN was ablymanaged by young Japanese graduates and thesponsors decided that we could hold our headsabove the clouds without expensive meetings onan annual basis. Moreover, the support extendedto us by the Sekai Kyusei Kyo of Thailand infacilitating training on EM through InternationalWorkshops at Sara Buri gave us the impetus tocontinue and even expand our activities ofpromoting Nature Farming and EM Technologyin the mandate region and even beyond.In 1997, there was indeed a cause for alarm – thecancellation of the Fifth International KyuseiN a t u r eF a r m i n gConference bythe Chineseauthorities!!H o w e v e r(please readthe highlights)we did it inBangkok andit was a greatsuccess withthe VIPs of IFOAM attending it. Thereafter withno EM Technology conferences and SteeringCommittee meetings, we could consolidate ourreal work in developing Nature Farming and EMTechnology in all its facets in the mandate region.In 1998, after organizing the Fifth InternationalConference in Bangkok in just 13 days, our bosses– especially EMRO, decided that our office inour home was too small!! It’s only after the jobwas done that the bosses realized our potential –and thus we moved for the third time – a locationvery close – only 12 minutes walking distance toMonririn Building -this was a spaciouscomfortable place…and with much space. Wesettled in quickly, but still lived in our Bangkokhome, in Kularb Apartments and literally traveledto work – by taxi, tutk tuk, or even by foot!!In 1999 and 2002, we arranged the InternationalKyusei Nature Farming Conferences in Pretoria,South Africa and Christchurch, New Zealand, allof which were really successful and peopleparticipated in greater numbers. What was more

important was to get the Proceedings out – againedited by us in a shorter time and not wait forfour years as in the past, when it was done byreal professionals at much greater cost. Wesucceeded in getting the Proceedings indexed inInternational databases, again disseminating theinformation to the worldwide audiences.After 2002, when all the international conferenceswere over, it was our mandate to disseminateinformation and promote Nature Farming and EMin the mandate region, which has expandedbeyond our dreams. The demand was rising forEM and technical help and we had to do all thiswithin declining budgets!!The first step to reduce the budget was therelocation of the office back to KularbApartments, where we are based!! However itwas not to Room 802 – but to a larger space inRoom 210. Many were pleased about this shiftback – Kularb Apartments was and is our homeand it is so nice to have the office at home!! Fromthis venue we worked diligently we weresuccessful in putting out this newsletter in time –which was awaited by many. Our trainingworkshops at the Sara Buri Center was and is ingreat demand – we are doing our job! This isnetworking and doing it like EM – Efficient

IFOAM President at theBangkok Conference

The South African Conference

The delegates at the New Zealand Conference


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Management!! This is APNAN and itsdevelopments over the last 20 years!!It is often stated that Time and Tide waits for noperson – man, women or animal!! There is acommon adage that time causes changes!! Thisis true of APNAN as well. Over the years, wehave refined ourselves – and we continue to doour job at the least possible cost, and in mostoccasions on a volunteer basis, where only thebasic costs are met – and no profit is taken. Ourinitial contacts have gone expect for three or four,but newer and more efficient contacts have takenover to run our programs. Some nations, evenfounding members have limited programs muchto our sorrow as much time and even funds werespent on these nations. However we do not lookback - we are still continuing to make headway.One important aspect that we have seen over the20 years is that the less money we spend on anation – the more successful it is!!This is self-reliance and our partners in thosenations are doing really great – going to placeswith EM and Nature Farming and also expandingthe uses of EM into hitherto unheard areas suchas cosmetics!! Our sponsors support us andwithin the office in Room 210 in KularbApartments, tucked in a small alleyway inSapankwai of Bangkok, we do our work. We havemade friends all over the world – we arewelcomed in all continents and we do our job

well. Theseand manymore, whichwould makea news bookand not anewslet ter,could tell allour dearfriends arereaders about

us!! We are happy where we are – and will striveto do better than before – and we look forwardwith anticipation and happiness to the future. Thisis APNAN, the little network for Nature Farmingand EM Technology!!!

WE SPREAD OUR WINGS…APNAN, the little network started off in 1989with small beginnings – and 13 members… Withtime, we gathered all nations in the region – with

the exception of Brunei Darussalam – The firstnation to join us – the lucky 13 was China,followed by countries such as Nepal, Vietnam,Lao PDR, New Zealand, Maldives, Bhutan,Australia, and Cambodia. Thus we have coveredall of Asia, and the two most important nations ofOceania. We are left with the islands, althoughwe know that EM is sent to the island nationssuch as Fiji and Samoa. Hence we really spreadour wings to the mandate region.The important events however were the facts ofour winging to other regions as well. In 1994,APNAN President, Prof. Dr. Teruo Higa alongwith Mr. Okubo, our long time liaison officer fromINFRC and an insignificant member of APNANstopped by in Singapore to present EM as atechnology for the 21st century, at a conferenceorganized by the Commonwealth AgriculturalBureau. It was at this meeting, the first contactwas made to EARTH University of Costa Rica,where EM is now a household word and is a partof the curriculum in this prestigious universityteaching sustainable agriculture to the LatinAmerica and now to students of other regions aswell. The contact made with Professor. Dr.Panfilo Tabora, who also attended the conferencein Singapore to learn of new technologies for the21st century, often tells us – this is the mostimportant technology that we learnt at thisconference and we are using it daily!! APNANeven sent the first professor on EM to EARTHUniversity – our first Senior Technical Officer,Masaki Shintani was sent by our president toEARTH University to teach and help spread EMand Nature Farming in the region!! The programsbegun at the EARTH University has expanded inboth Central and Latin America, and alumniorganize EM events in the region – All by thisseed planted by this little network.Taking on even the great Nation of America wasa task for APNAN. The Third International KyuseiNature Farming Conference, which wasorganized for our sponsors, the INFRC, byscientists of the United States Department ofAgriculture did virtually nothing to spread thenews – However it was our ex first SeniorTechnical Officer who moved from Costa Ricato Tucson Arizona USA, founded EMRO USAand on the lines of APNAN initiated the EMTechnology Network. A member of APNAN wasplaced on the advisory board and all meetings and

The hardworking APNAN staff


14

seminars forced this member from Asia to travelmany miles to present the scientific basis of EMin the international arena of farming andenvironment. Even today APNAN acts in anadvisory capacity to EM America and EMRO USA,which is headed by our ex boss Takashi Kyan,who was trained by us to become a buxom capableleader from a thin shy junior officer just in fiveyears!!!We did not rest our tired wings – but went further.The Nature Farming and EM programs in Europewere small affairs managed within very smalldiscrete communities, by friends from Brazil. EMwas taken as far back as 1992 and 1993 to Europewith many contacts. However it was in 1995,with APNAN holding a really true Nature Farmingand EM conference in Paris, with the Presidentof IFOAM as the chair and attended by manyEuropean nations that the projects really got offthe ground. It is remembered with nostalgia andhilarity, the pressure APNAN has from advisorslocated in the US to hold an organic conferencein Paris!! We resisted and won – and today afterthis conference EM is growing in Europe. Wetake pride in stating this.After all this, there was only one continent left –that of Africa – and this little network did notleave that either!!!! The first contact from thegreat continent was from Egypt via the HonorableUnder Secretary of State for Afforestation,Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation,Dr. Mamdouh Riad. The EM program gotunderway in 1997, and again APNAN had to goto initiate the projects. On one occasion, theproblems betweenthe Ministry and thestaff sent by EMRO,our sponsors couldnot be settled and itwas APNAN that hadto fly to smoothenthe ruffled feathersand to preventclashes! Thereafter, itwas the conferencein South Africa thatpromoted EM andNature Farming,again organized byus. Today it is with pride that we state – that thelargest tomato farm in South Africa is using

principles of Nature Farming and EM Technology– due to our efforts and in case of problems.. Itis a small member of this little network who iscontacted for advice!! Thus we have spread ourwings to all parts of the globe –covering allcontinents – and we are left only with the Arcticand Antarctic regions where no crops reallygrow!!! May be with global warming and meltingof ice caps and land surfacing – when agriculturewould begin in these regions some day (Hopenot!!) we will move into these regions as well!!! Are we proud of our achievements – that wehave taken the message of Nature Farming asadvocated by Mokichi Okada, through EMTechnology to the world, as was our mandate?Yes we are but we are modest, as taught by ourgreat mentor, the late Rev. Kazuo Wakugami. It isremembered with nostalgia the advice given tothree officers of APNAN, who paid a courtesycall to this great benevolent person in his office,to thank him, his able assistant and present

President of SKK inThailand, Rev DaihoKasahara and themembers of theorganization, for thetremendous supportprovided to us toarrange the FifthI n t e r n a t i o n a lConference in 13

days in 1997. His words were, you few peoplehave achieved the unachievable – you have savedthe name of Mokichi Okada, and Nature Farmingand EM – You have done your sponsors proud –But please never boast of it – do not proclaimthat you have achieved the virtually impossible ata lower cost than estimated. – What you must dois to let people realize what you have done andappreciate it – this is humility and greatness. Weoften recall this advice given to us by this greatperson – and revere his memory all the time.This is the little network – we have done our joband more importantly, are proud and modest ofthese developments. Many a time it is stated byour ex bosses that we should move from ourpresent office to more plush places – in Bangkokto enable us receive guests with pride. Howeverwe resist these offers continuously – as being inour office in Kularb, where we live enables us toburn the midnight oil, and even when tired go

APNAN in Egypt

Rev. Wakugami withAPNAN President


15

upstairs to relax, and order the imported cook toprepare meals for us – as it has happened overthe last 14 years !! This is efficient managementof resources and we are doing the job we wereasked to do without a fuss and in modesty,although we grumble a bit at times!!!A dormant bird is of no value and self centeredknowledge and technology serves no human. Weare just the opposite – in that we have flown acrossall continents on this earth – and we have spreadthe message of Nature Farming advocated byMokichi Okada to all continents and that of EMTechnology. We have assisted projects in allcontinents and we have helped develop manysecondary products for human welfare – all toprovide a better place to humankind. We havetrained people in Nature Farming and EM – usingthe paradise on Earth – The Sara Buri NatureFarming Center, managed by Sekai Kyusei Kyoof Thailand. Thus the bird APNAN – is reallyflying - spreading its wings.We are contented and do the tired wings need arest? We do not think so – all our travels topromote Nature Farming and EM to distantplaces, at times under very difficult

circumstances are taken as free holidays!! Weget to sample different food, experience differentcultures and meet different personalities,sometimes Ministers of Government, Heads ofDepartments and even poor farmers – at no costto us! What better way of doing a good job andduty? If you read the newsletters that are preparedonce in 4 months, you would read of theprogresses we have made and at times someexperiences are hilarious! We have taken all theseinto consideration – and we do assure you – allour friends and sponsors that we will spread ourwings effectively and with confidence on a

greater scale in the future. This is APNAN – Thelittle network in Bangkok, which is entrusted witha major challenge to help humans overcome theproblems of food and environment that facehumankind.

THE GLORIES OF OUR 20 YEARSModesty is good – vanity is never a trait of greatpersonalities!!! We often quote this because thisconcept has been inculcated by the great menwho have mentored us – If we wish to recallsome names, those that come to the limelight arethe late Rev. Yasushi Matsumoto, the ex Presidentof Sekai Kyusei Kyo, The current incumbent andgreat personality, Rev. Tetsuo Watanabe, who,on meeting APNAN a few years ago, stated – yesyou have done good work and let people appreciateit ; the late Rev. Kazuo Wakugami and the presentPresident of SKK Thailand, Rev. Daiho Kasahara,the ex Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rev.Setsunori Shinoda, the current incumbent, thegenial Rev. Kiyoshi Amano, and even our Presidentand Madam Higa and the senior officials of SekaiKyusei Kyo of Japan and Thailand, INFRC andthe EM Research Organization. They all havestated that humility is a virtue and never to forgetit!!!However when we celebrate 20 years of existence(who thought that was possible??) it is with thishumility and modesty that we recall some of ourglories – what we have attained. The first we feelis getting rid of dead wood – people who haveworked for APNAN purely from a selfish natureand tried to use these non-profit organizationsfor personal gains. This took a lot of time andconvincing, but we did it and streamlined theprocess of working in harmony and cooperation.This is one key to our success – although it wasa difficult process amidst death threats at times!!APNAN is a training ground for young Japaneseguys and girls – who will in the future ventureout, serving humanity through Nature Farmingand EM. Thus over 21 young Japanese havewalked the corridors of APNAN over the last 20years either for long or short periods of time.The sponsors expected APNAN to train them ininternational activities, to assert themselves andbe useful to humankind in an independent manner.Over the years, the network looks back with prideof the colleagues. Today in INFRC and SekaiKyusei Kyo, they hold responsible positions

Intensive Nature Farming at Sara Buri


16

promoting Nature Farming. Good examples ofthese are Hiroyasu Ohashi and Nobuyuki Taniki,who are in the certification office of INFRC andKosaburo Imamura, an excellent researcher at theEM Laboratory. Our dear friend MasanobuSakurai is deputy head of the Sara Buri TrainingCenter and thus helps us immensely during theworkshops and with visitors to this paradise onearth.In EMRO one is now a fully-fledged Doctor ofPhilosophy. Dr. Masaki Shintani, who left us toteach at EARTH University, moved on to establish,manage and consolidate EMRO USA and finallyended up in the company he loves – that of ladiesto read for his Doctoral Degree at the TokyoWomen’s Medical University!! Today, he headsthe Research Department at EMRO and serveson the Board of Directors. The two Takashis Kyanand Shimoji hold very responsible positions inEMRO – The duo always worked together – andwhile Kyan Takashi is Head of Administration andOverseas, his able assistant is Shimoji Takashi!!At present, we still perform this task well and wehave five members - all working in harmony. It isnot that there were and are no clashes ofpersonality!!! There were instances of litigation!!However all these minor problems were solvedin the usual friendly manner at our home in Kularband we are doing great – this is one of our greatestglories - to see our old colleagues doing well.The international links that APNAN has forged,bringing Nature Farming and EM to theinternational scene is also one of our realsuccesses!! EM and Nature Farming werepresented to the organic forums of IFOAM asfar back as in 1986, with our president presenting

a poster at the IFOAM Scientific Congress inSanta Cruz, California. His second poster was in1989 in Burkina Faso – where a link was forged,that has grown from strength to strength overthe last 21 years. In 1990 it was a poster again inHungary, but the real breakthrough came in 1992,at the IFOAM conference in Brazil, where a paperon Nature Farming and EM was first presentedat the conference with Professor. Higa on stageas coauthor. This was the first time an oralpresentation was made on Nature Farming andEM. It was also a good omen – where it was thefirst paper of the conference assembly – thus itwas a full audience!! Thereafter every conferencehas papers on EM – in New Zealand the firstsession on Nature Farming and EM was held,amidst a very volatile crowd!! APNAN bravedthe way and we succeeded that we have a realtechnology. This was the case in Argentina,Denmark, Canada and Switzerland and Australia.It was heartening to note over the years theaudiences grew for the papers on EM and NatureFarming, while the critics and skeptics becameless and less!!!! One highlight was in 2008 inModena, Italy, where the scientific basis forNature Farming was presented at the IFOAM/ISOFAR Conference – again by APNAN!! Thuswe have made our mark with Nature Farmingand EM Technology in the world’s body onorganics!!In the 1990s, APNAN developed very close linkswith the IFOAM Board – where two IFOAMPresidents Herve la Prairie and Linda Bullard wereboth our guests. They appreciated what we weredoing – and held us in the highest esteem tocooperate and work diligently. This was an asset– and unfortunately, this bohemia is now lacking– this issomething weneed torectify!This littlenetwork didnot rest on itslaurels byworking withIFOAM. The Proceedings of the InternationalKyusei Nature Farming Conferences were citedon the Commonwealth Agricultural BureauAbstract indexing service, beginning from theFourth Conference. Today, even in the most

APNAN bosses at the IDB Meeting

Forging ties - IFOAM and APNAN


17

searched citation index, the Web of Knowledge,there are a large number of citations on EM andNature Farming from different regions – allinspired by the work of this little network. Asstated earlier, we planted the seeds of NatureFarming and EM in all continents and thus weare really networking – on a low-key budget in avery modest way.Working with Governments is not easy – and insome nations virtually impossible! However wehave broken these barriers. We formulatedagreements with the countries such as the Unionof Myanmar, Vietnam, Lao PDR, and the RoyalGovernment of Bhutan and very importantly evenorganized a conference in the Democratic PeoplesRepublic of Korea!! All were done successfully

on behalf of our sponsors – INFRC and EMRO –We have developed links with organizations andindividuals in all member nations and work closelywith all of them – this again is a highlight of ourwork over the last 20 years!!The highlight of our glory we think is the FifthInternational Kyusei Nature Farming Conferenceheld in Thailand. It was planned for China – but14 days prior to the conference, the sponsors,the INFRC was informed of its cancellation. Weat APNAN pulled our socks up – and with theopen support of the Sekai Kyusei Kyo of Thailandand its President and Vice President, Rev. KazuoWakugami and Rev. Daiho Kasahara, we did it! Itwas done from our little office in Kularb, with nocopier, two computers, one printer and one faxmachine. Our president did not give us even acopier. Midnight oil was burnt, sleepless nightswere aplenty over those 13 days and we did it –and everyone was so pleased that it was held onschedule – saving the face of INFRC, EMRO and

of Kyusei Nature Farming – especially as IFOAMPresident and Vice President were also comingto it as an invited guest!!! This was anachievement - no easy feat – and we at APNANthank all the young staff of INFRC and EMROwho gave us a helping hand – especially TakashiKyan and Aki Fujisawa who managed the wholething so well. It was also a very important event,in that during the late nights at the printery, wherestaff were working 24 hours without sleep,developing the new book of abstracts, that a newstreet restaurant was identified – that serves thebest Thai food in Bangkok – and even today, after12 long years, we at APNAN patronize it on aregular basis!! Looking back over the past 20years – we can be proud of our achievements –all done in the face of declining budgets, human

power cuts. Although we are modest and do notwant recognition in a glorified way – we canreally be proud that we have exceeded ourmandate to work and the region –IN SHORT, WE CAN SAY THAT WE HAVEBEEN OVER 75% RESPONSIBLE FORSPREADING THE CONCEPT OF NATUREFARMING AS ADVOCATED BY MOKICHIOKADA AND TO A GREATER EXTENT THETECHNOLOGY OF EFFECTIVEMICROORGANISMS GLOBALLY!! THIS ISOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT!!

The Conference in BKK

APNAN meets Vietnamese VIPs

The APNAN Street Resturant


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OUR ACTIVITIES….At the end of 20 years of hard work all donehappily, with a smile on our faces and withcomplaints. In addition, mostly on a volunteerbasis, one tends to ask – Are you taking a break???NO WAY – as our dear friends down under say!!We at present do many things – we promoteNature Farming and EM Technology in a big wayin the region and beyond – even in other continents– Our staff fly to make EM in different regionsand generally all problems related to NatureFarming and EM finally end up on our lap!! Wehelp solve them with a smile on our faces!! Wemake EM in over 20 nations all over the worldand train people from all walks of life at the SaraBuri Nature Farming Training Center!! We run

internationalworkshopson NatureF a r m i n g ,a d v i c efarmers inour homenation inT h a i l a n dand in theregion –and we do

prepare this newsletter – which is eagerly awaitedby the readers on time!! We have developed amanual on EM and Nature Farming and at presentare updating it!! We managed scholarshipprograms for our sponsors to train students fromMyanmar for a Ph D and Bachelors degrees fromthe Karasin Campus of the Rajamangala Universityof Bangkok. We have funded the World food prizein Bhutan for several years – all to foster educationamong the future generations.We have started a demonstration block on NatureFarming in Sara Buri and we have a website! Thenewsletter is on line and we do all the work thatis passed onto us by our sponsors EMRO andINFRC! Thus we are still active and although theburden of organizing conferences is removed, weare actively participating at International Forumsto present Nature Farming and EM Technology.With all these we are indeed a busy lot!Our work takes us to many nations – and thistakes time and can tell on the health of the youngstaff – who live in Bangkok, away from theirparents and families. However we are all happy

and we are pleased to inform our sponsors,colleagues, contacts and friends –APNAN IS ALIVE AND KICKING!! IT ISREARING TO MOVE FORWARD AND THUSPLEASE KEEP US MOTIVATED BYCONTACTING US – WE WILL HELPALWAYS!WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE WITH MUCHCONFIDENCE!!

LOOK TO THE FUTUREWHAT OF THE FUTURE??The question that we ask ourselves is – have wedone our job? Have we outlived the usefulness?Is the training we impact not needed anymore?Is the newsletter obsolete?? Do our sponsors needus??Looking at what we do at the present time. Theanswer to all of these is NO!! We are called uponto do many many things as before and evenmore!!! One real example is the formation ofEMRO Asia, in Thailand. This latest developmentwas precipitated due to the indiscreet neglect ofthe EM program in the Royal Kingdom of Thailandby one of our ardent fans. Who got everythingthey could from us! We tried to help with no avail,and today we have to help our sponsor EMResearch Organization provide EM to the massesof the Kingdom, who have been the highest usersof the technology for many years.We are developing new manuals, and informationblogs – we develop the newsletter generally in 48– 72 hours and then get it out.. if not our readerssend us emails!! Thus we have to continue andstrengthen all that we are doing now – well intothe future.The question is – are we complacent about whatwe are doing and should be just carry on

A workshop in session

APNAN's demonstration plot


19

supplying technical know-how and EM to ourcontacts? Do we become the working arm ofour sponsors? We think NO!! We have much moreto do!! APNAN is a network proving information– however – we also must promote research anddevelopment. There are many grey areas in bothNature Farming and EM Technology, which needresearching. Now that our ex boss Masaki Shintaniis heading the research unit at EMRO, we hopethat this need will be met. We need to cooperatewith the Agricultural Experiment Station of theINFRC at Hata-machi, Nagano and with the EMLaboratory at Shizuoka to provide the world withresearch data that is now being called for. Weshould change our emphasis to generate moreinformation for dissemination – and all this has to

be done soon –It should havebeen doneyesterday – butt o d a y ,tomorrow andthe future isgood enough.In thisscenario, wesee our rolegrowing – We

hope that the sponsors will support us as we

support them and we look forward eagerly to abright future with a bright horizon !Thus dear readers, we are a network – contactus – network and work with us to promoteNature Farming and EM to make this earth a betterplace for humankind.

THE COMMENTS OF OUR BOSSES – BOTHEX AND NOW…….APNAN is a very fortunate organization! Overthe last 20 years, we have had six Senior TechnicalOfficers (including the present one) who haveguided its activities in a very successful manner.It is known that at times they were very stressedby the demands and responsibilities entrusted uponthem by the sponsors and by demands by ourcontacts, members, friends, and even visitors,tourists and enemies!! However, this wasconsidered a part of their training and today allthe five Senior Technical Officers recall with fondmemories the times at our little network. It isinteresting that all of them stayed in KularbApartments from 1994 and if the walls of thebuilding – especially the 8th floor could talk – theywould sing out many very interesting stories!!These are APNAN’s secrets!!!However, we are lucky that all of them keep incontact – although they have moved upwards intheir respective lives and hence are very pleasedand honored to publish their messages to us onthis occasion.

A note from Dr. Masaki Shintani, our firstSenior Technical Officer…..

Congratulations –to APNAN on the20th anniversary!!I was at APNANas its SeniorTechnical Officerfrom 1994 to1996, at a timewhen Nature andOrganic Farmingwere not verypopular, and theuse of EM was

rather rare. However, with perseverance and hardwork, we at APNAN explained the fundamentalsof Nature Farming and the potential of EM – andconvinced people that these really work. We held

EMRO Headquarters

The bosses of the INFRC farm

EM Lab with our exboss Imamura


20

workshops, seminars, and trainings and we weresuccessful in getting the concepts accepted. Onesignificant feature of our success was theavailability of the facility at Sara Buri, which wasthe venue of many study tours and which helpedto promote Nature Farming and EM in themandate region.It is my hope and wish that APNAN will continueto hold workshops and provide qualityinstructions to train people in Nature Farming andEM Technology, as in the recent years, thedemand for quality and safe food is beingrequested by humankind. Nature Farming and EMare concepts that have global recognition for theircapacity to protect the environment and henceAPNAN, the small network has a significant roleto play not only in agriculture, but also inenvironmental conservation, regional developmentand health promotion at the present time and alsointo the future.I take this opportunity to thank all those who haveguided and helped APNAN over the last twodecades and hope that they will continue tosupport this great little network into the futureyears.

From the pen of Takashi Kyan, our secondSenior Technical Officer......On behalf of the Overseas Department of EMResearch Organization, I congratulate APNAN onits 20th anniversary, and thank all the staff of thenetwork for their significant cooperation to

d i s s e m i n a t eNature Farmingand EMTechnology in allregions of theworld.I held the post ofSenior TechnicalOfficer from1996 to 2000,during a veryturbulent time.The most

significant impact was the shifting of the FifthInternational Kyusei Nature Farming Conferencein Bangkok from Beijing, China in a matter of 13days!! All arrangements were made and a groupticket was booked to take the delegates fromBangkok to Beijing on China Southern Airlines,

but the cancellation made me panic!! However,we had a friend and staff member who made itpossible to hold the conference in 13 days onschedule – with all the staff of APNAN, INFRCand EMRO working hard day and night, withthe fullest support from the Sekai Kyusei Kyoof Thailand and under the eagle eye of this guywho managed the organization. It was easy toappease this guy – only a Kit Kat could makethis guy happy! The conference was a hugesuccess and only thing we could give this guywas a box of Kit Kat! However, I feel that I amvery lucky to have had the opportunity to be theSenior Technical Officer and hence could learnmany things – I am proud to call myself amember of staff APNAN – I even got marriedduring this time and produced a beautifuldaughter!!In conclusion, I wish to thank all the people whohave guided and managed our little but greatnetwork over the last 20 years – I thank ourPresident, Professor. Dr. Teruo Higa and all thesponsors of APNAN – they have given the rightguideline and shown the correct pathway.It is my sincere hope that APNAN, the smallorganization will be as efficient as ever – andincrease its efficiency further and be successfulinto the distant future, doing its work in adignified and sure way!

The message from Takashi Shimoji, our thirdboss…It was January1999, when I firstarrived inAPNAN andbegan work astechnical officer.I learnt theoperations of thisnetwork, itsobjectives andaspirations fromits seniormembers and especially from its boss, TakashiKyan. In 2000, I took over the mantle from Mr.Kyan who was recalled to Okinawa. Thehighlights of this period were the InternationalKyusei Nature Farming Conferences in SouthAfrica and New Zealand, and especially theInternational Conference on EM Technology in


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DPR Korea. This was indeed a very special eventin a very special nation.During the period I headed APNAN, the networkwas in transition – to make all nations independentand self-sustaining in their Nature Farming andEM projects. We began the system of Know Howagreements and Memorandums of Understandingwith our partner nations and members. This wasa successful operation and is still in use as it ledto strengthening the cooperation in an independentand self-reliance. Although our English was poor,being young Japanese, there was help at handthrough a silent member of the network, whowas always there to give a helping hand.I learnt a lot from APNAN and gave my best. Iwish that it keeps and more importantly willimprove its operations and maintain themomentum it has generated in the world of NatureFarming and EM Technology. To me it has donewonders – even like my previous boss at APNAN,I settled down with my long-standing girlfriendto a healthy married life.I wish APNAN – the great little network – allsuccess.

Words from Nobuyuki Taniki, our fourthBoss…

CongratulationsAPNAN – Onyour 20thanniversary!I am very happyto hear of thesuccess thatAPNAN has had,and its plans forcelebrating 20years of fruitfulwork to humanitythrough thepromotion of

Nature Farming and EM Technology. I took overthe position of senior technical officer in 2003from my dear friend and boss Takashi Shimoji,who guided the network for three years. Duringmy stay in APNAN, which was over 6 years, Isaw the potential and worked towards its success.I strongly feel that we at APNAN were verysuccessful – much more than what was expectedof us. This was a privilege – to be associatedwith this great network, especially at its boss. I

will always remember the trips we made todifferent nations with our silent member, whotaught us many things – both in work and in life!!It is my hope and prayer that APNAN will continueits activities much more successfully andvigorously to promote Nature Farming and EMTechnology – The world needs it and APNAN isnow experienced to do it. I look forward to theday when APNAN becomes a household word inthe mandate region and beyond, through thepromotion of Nature Farming and EMTechnology.

Kosaburo Imamura – the fifth SeniorTechnical Officer says……… APNAN, the little network is a powerfulorganiza t ion ,doing a serviceto humanity –and I wasprivileged tohead it from2005 until theend of 2006. Istrongly believedthat APNAN hadan importantrole in the AsiaPacific region –although the International Conferences were over,the workshops we held gathered people in greaternumbers and thus we at APNAN promoted NatureFarming and EM in a significant manner.One feature that I had to content with during mytenure was to manage the budget, which wasdiminishing at an alarming rate. We moved backto our old office from Monririn to Kularb, westabilized a system of maintaining the quality ofEM and for the first time organized a Dealersmeeting in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006. These werehighlights. It was also during my time that a kitchenlaboratory was developed to initiate methods ofstabilizing EM – and the smells that came out ofroom 801 in Kularb was not a problem as wewere on the top most floor – and any bad smellcould be attributed to the terrible cooking of ourvisiting cook!!I have gained a lot from APNAN – the experiencesand the people – and this was a highlight of thisnetwork – the contacts it had. I wish it well andhope that it will continue well into the next 20 or


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more years, serving humanity of the worldthrough the promotion of Nature Farming andEM Technology

The present boss - Jun Matsumotostates………..As APNAN marks its 20th year, I am privileged tohead it as its sixth senior technical officer. Today,we are in the process of consolidating NatureFarming and EMin the region andexpanding oura c t i v i t i e s .Although we donot organizeI n t e r n a t i o n a lConferences, wedo coordinateinformation anddo our best tospread it aroundto all interested.We continue tohold International workshops and also trainingsand guide visitors to Sara Buri, the paradise onearth. We do help our poorer members to developand sustain themselves and very importantly holdmeetings with our dealers and counterparts tomaintain EM quality, develop Nature Farming unitsand even at times mediate to stop infighting forEM!!We are well aware that it is our mandate to helpthe poor farmers in the region, which holds themost number of people per unit of land – andalso to improve the environments through NatureFarming and EM Technology. It is our mandateto maintain quality and also assist innovativeprocesses being developed by our partners tomake EM available in numerous ways throughthe developments of new products. The holdingof the dealers meeting and exhibition in 2008proved to be successful in exchanging ideas –and we are proud of our achievements.At the time of celebrating 20 years – I as thepresent Senior Technical Officer am hopeful thatwe can achieve our goals. I thank all those whoguide and help us and we look forward to greatercooperation in the future years. I also thank mycolleagues and mentors and hope for bettercooperation and guidance to achieve the objectivesof this great little network.

STAFF OF THE GREAT LITTLENETWORK…………………….APNAN is identified as a training ground to theyoung Japanese staff – both in techniques, workethics, leadership, international relations,cooperation, and co-existence and even in life –in all its forms and fascinations! Thus, many havewalked through the corridors of Kularb Apartmentshelping us with our activities for different periodsof time. Thus, it is with profound gratitude thatwe list them – all of them were from Japan whowere trained by us and more importantly assistedus to do our job successfully and efficiently andwere assisted by three Thai ladies.The officers who were with us for differentdurations of times are as follows:From International Nature Farming ResearchCenter, Atami…Takahiro Hayakawa, Hiroyasu Ohashi,, TomoakiKobayashi, Junya Sakai, Masanobu Sakurai,Nobuyuki Taniki, Kosaburo Imamura

From EM Research Organization, Okinawa….Masaki Shintani, Yoshiro Nagado, TakashiKyan, Aya Okuda, Aki Fujisawa, MasahikoGondo, Takashi Shimoji, Shoji Kanda, ShinjiTakara, Keefe Uehara

From Thailand…Ms.Somlaksana Pongdit and Ms.LalitaKaewmanee

At present – the staff are –Jun Matsumoto (EMRO), Koki Nagamine(INFRC), Yujiro Sano (INFRC), Toru Koshoji(EMRO), Yasushi Nishibuchi (EMRO) and Ms.Siriporn Silpakul (Thailand)

WE THANK THEM FOR THEIR WORK ANDCONTINUED CONTACT AND SUPPORT.

APNAN after 20 years!


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COMMENTS BY OUR FRIENDS ANDCOLLEAGUESAPNAN over the last 20 years have made manyfriends and contacts and in developing thisnewsletter, we requested some of our oldest anddynamic friends to send messages – and we arepleased to state some of them here.

A note from a founding member – the onlylady member of our ex steering committee…..Since its inception in 1989, I have, with great

interest, watchedthe baby APNANgrowing up intoits adulthood overthe last 20 years.I am very proudof this network“APNAN” forlasting that long,and contributing agreat deal throughthe provision ofenvironmentally

sound technologies, and rendering its assistancefinancial or otherwise for the good of the farmingpopulace in a number of countries around theglobe. As one of its founding members, I cannothelp but have the greatest pleasure to see itstanding firmly on its own feet and heading on itsway to achieve its noble objectives of making thisworld a better and cleaner place to live andproducing healthy food for the mankind. Thoseof you, who so ever have made all these happen,deserve our special appreciation.I would now like to take this opportunity ofexpressing my personal gratitude towardsAPNAN and all concerned for all the necessaryassistance provided to the Union of Myanmar.Finally, I would like to congratulate “APNAN”on its 20th anniversary and wish the very bestand greater success in its endeavors in the future.Dr Cho Cho MyintPro- Rector – Academic Affairs (Retd)Yezin Agriculture University, Union ofMyanmar

A note of felicitation from Costa Rica….Cheers from all your friends here at EARTHUniversity in Costa Rica for the 20th anniversaryof APNAN. We have witnessed how APNAN has

made naturalagriculture growto its presentimportance andhas contributed tonew hopes fors u s t a i n a b l ea g r i c u l t u r earound the world.We have had ourfaculty, ourstudents (nowgraduates) andour administrators experience the work of APNANwith the farmers, researchers and agricultureprofessionals and we too have made naturalagriculture a part of our lives here in Central andSouth America where our graduates continue tospread this experience.With the EM Technology that APNAN has showedus, we have had great strides in sustainable bananaand pineapple production technologies and in therevival of lakes and rivers important to manyproducers and residents of the growing sites andalso of these large bodies of water. We plan tokeep showing to more people the great merits ofnatural agriculture and to many countries whereour students and graduates have influence.20 years of APNAN seems like it was justyesterday and while many things have beenaccomplished, we still see many more things thatit can do in the next 20 years. We salute APNANfor the work well done and we express ourfervent hopes for many more years and muchmore work that needs to be done that only APNANcan do!Dr. Panfilo TaboraProfessor, EARTH UniversityCosta Rica

From a very active and dynamic friend ofAPNAN….APNAN is a very valuable organization for nationsapplying EM and Nature Farming technologies.Thus on behalf of the Vietnam – JapanTechnology Development Center and practitionersof EM Technology in Vietnam, I thank APNANfor its valuable assistance in the application ofEM Technology in Vietnam. We also extend ourgreetings and sincere congratulation to APNANon its 20th anniversary.


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Vietnam beganusing EM in 1996,through theassistance ofAPNAN and in1997, a delegationheaded byProfessor DrTeruo Higa visitedHanoi toparticipate inseminars anddiscussions with

Ministers of the Vietnam Government and SeniorOfficials and academics. Soon afterwards, anagreement of cooperation was signed between theMinistry of Science and Technology of Vietnamand APNAN, INFRC and EMRO. Since then, theuse of EM has been expanding and today over70% of the provinces of Vietnam use EM foragriculture, waste management, animal husbandryand crops. We anticipate further developments inthe future to cover the whole of Vietnam withthese technologies promoted by APNAN.It is hope and wish that APNAN will continue toassist us in this venture and we wish this greatnetwork the very best and hope that it will growfrom strength to strength to support thedevelopment of sustainable agriculture and a cleanenvironment in all nations of the world.Dr Le Khac QuangVina Nich Center, Hanoi, Vietnam

A note from a dear friend and a strongsupporter of our activities….Congratulations to Asia Pacific Natural AgricultureNetwork on 20th Anniversary!!The Kyusei Nature Farming Center, Sara Buri, aunit of Asia Agricultural Personnel CreationInstitute of Thailand, supported by the SekaiKyusei Kyo Thai Headquarters, was establishedin 1988 in the Sara Buri province, a year prior tothe First International Conference on KyuseiNature Farming and EM Technology, held at KhonKaen, Thailand. Since then, the center hascooperated with APNAN especially for trainingand workshop activities.Kyusei Nature Farming is a method, which wasadvocated by Mokichi Okada of Japan, founderof Sekai Kyusei Kyo in 1935. It is based on thebelief that the world can be transformed into a

paradise by eradicating disease, poverty andconflict. This is shown at Sara Buri.Two decades have passed, since the inception ofAPNAN – it has been a fruitful period wherepeople have learned from the nature followingMokichi Okada’s philosophy through KyuseiNature Farmingand EMT e c h n o l o g ywhich arec o n t r i b u t i n gs i g n i f i c a n ts u s t a i n a b l emethods for the21st century.We do hope in thenext decade, ourKyusei NatureFarming Centerand APNAN activities will serve the Asia andPacific region and the other continentals to fulfillthe human needs, particularly food security anda better environment on the basis of sustainability,productivity and social adoptability.We thank APNAN for their cooperation and hopethat this union will strengthen to greater heightsin the future.Kanit MuangnilSara Buri, Thailand

From the father of the authentic EMmovement in EuropeCongratulations APNAN…!!!!In 1995 Agriton met EM Effective Micro-organisms during a lecture in Amsterdam. Afterthis first meeting we were invited to the FourthInternational Conference on Kyusei NatureFarming held atParis, France inJune. At thisConference thefirst scientificreports about theuse of EM in thecycle of soil-feed-animal-manurereally impressedus. Together withthe APNANmanual we had


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good tools to introduce the EM Technology ofProf. Higa into The Netherlands. After our firstsignificant research paper in The Netherlands, wewere invited to the 2 yearly Conferences all overthe world.Special memories to the Conference which shouldbe held in China in 1997 and was shifted toBangkok. In 2 weeks time the APNAN crewrescheduled the whole Conference! What a job!Many Conferences followed. We congratulateAPNAN and her crew with her 20th anniversaryand wish her another 20 or more fruitful years!Frits van den Ham –Agriton – The Netherlands

A note from down under… from Kangarooland….

We are verygrateful for thew o n d e r f u lsupport we havereceived fromAPNAN over thepast ten years ormore. For usAPNAN is like aconsc ien t iousGrandmother —quietly cleaningup after her

grandkids and making sure they do not fall in themud too often—and every now and thenintroducing them to new friends and partners!We have had the privilege of attending severalworkshops and meetings sponsored by APNANand hosting each of the APNAN technicians overthe years and have seen the fruits of theserelationships mature into long-term multi- nationalpartnerships with great benefit now. These include the implementation of qualitycontrol processes and the sharing of ideas acrossmany countries in which we have participated.We are also proud to say that it is because of afew days sleeping on the floor at an APNANworkshop that we have developed a very strongrelationship with our own Department ofEnvironment and with others in the same field inthe UK. These two relationships have helped ustake the concepts of Nature Farming and EM outof the land of “mystery and maybe” and into

commercial reality in Australia. We wish this greatlittle network the very best for the future.Ken BellamyVRM, TownsvilleAustralia

From NZ Nature Farming Society -a long-standing partner.....

From my very first exposure to EM back in 1992,and thes u b s e q u e n tevaluation of EMin New Zealandin 1994, and thedevelopment ofour productionfacility in 1998,APNAN has beenan invaluable andessential resourcefor ouro r g a n i z a t i o n .APNAN has helped us to grow and become asignificant EM production facility in the SouthPacific. APNAN helps us in many ways, fromanswering technical questions on EM andBokashi, to helping us produce quality EM 1, andproviding training for New Zealanders throughthe Sara Buri workshop programs. A millionthanks to APNAN and all of the faithful staffmembers who have dedicated many long hoursto making this little network so successful.

Mike DalyNew Zealand Nature Farming SocietyChristchurchNew Zealand

From our neighbors in Malaysia……

Congratulations on your 20th anniversary!JAMOF was born in 2004 when Malaysia wasone of the least active countries in the world withEM Technology. In order for us to catch up withour elder brothers, we have been running at thetop gear and finally are succeeding. In Penang,with the support by its State Government,communities/volunteers represented by majorfactories, religious groups, schools and ordinaryresidents are going to produce a million EM mudballs and throw them into a few rivers in trying


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to regain its onceglorious name of“Pearl of Orient”.We hope that thisproposed worldlargest EM mudballs application ata small corner ofMalaysia, Penang,will helpdisseminate theEM Technologyfurther nationwide

and lead us to the highest peak. We thank APNANfor its continued support and wish it well into itsfuture.Mr. T SawadaJAMOF, PenangMalaysia

IN MEMORIAM.......It is with respect that we acknowledge theguidance and assistance given to us by thefollowing -who after their very successful andproductive life on this earth, took the path of natureas all living beings do and departed this world. Itis with sincere respect and gratitude that we paytribute to these great persons, who guided ourdestinies and supported us in thoughts, words,performaces and deeds. We bow our heads totheir great lives.

Rev. Yasushi MatsumotoEx President, Sekai Kyusei Kyo and ex Chairman,Board of Directors, INFRC

Rev. Kazuo WakugamiPresident, Sekai Kyusei Kyo, Thailand and Advisorand mentor of APNAN

Rev. (Ms) Tsuru WakugamiSekai Kyusei Kyo, Thailand

Rev. Masanao OkumaSekai Kyusei Kyo – Sara Buri, Thailand

Mr. Yasufumi NamisatoEx President, EM Research Organization

A VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE TO THE SONSAND DAUGHTERS OF APNANA MESSAGE FROM OUR DEAR MUM…It is with significantpleasure that I writethis to the greaterworld of EMTechnology andNature Farming,which is promotedby APNAN – Thelittle network basedin Bangkok,Thailand. I haveseen this networkgrow with pride andpleasure, as I consider it a place of my children,who have shown the world and its humankind apath to a wholesome and better life.APNAN, from its beginning was a home to manyyoung Japanese, who were trained to be leaders– This was done with dedication and competenceby a few, whose motivation was to servehumankind and not be selfish. Today, after twentyyears, I look back and see with great pleasure,what APNAN has done – it’s a hive of activity ina cordial manner- coordinating and training – andwhat is special to me, who is considered to bethe APNAN mother is that the activities haveinspired me to reach out to the world in anunassuming and modest way. The many programsthat I have started with people of my homelandin Japan have been inspired by the activities ofAPNAN. At the end of twenty years – I do notlook back – but to the future of our little network,which I believe has led the pathway in showingwhat real networking is. It has inspired many andit is my wish that the movement moves ahead –not resting on its laurels of achievement. APNAN,I believe has a significant role to play, and in myown way, do assure APNAN that I will assist andsupport them.I wish this wonderful family network the verybest for its next twenty and more years.Ms. Setsuko HigaOkinawa

THE INTERNATIONAL NATURE FARMING RESEARCH CENTER, ATAMI, JAPAN

The International Nature Farming Research Center, located at Atami, Japan, was established in 1985 with theobjectives of enhancing economic stability of farmers and producing nutritious and good quality food for humankind.Thus, the INFRC undertakes research and extension programs on Nature Farming based on the principles of NatureFarming advocated by Mokichi Okada, who stated the importance of respecting nature and conforming to its laws.The importance of allowing soils to exhibit their inherent potential is also a key to the principles of Nature Farming,which is promoted by the INFRC.Today, the INFRC supports over 1900 Nature Farming units in Japan – both in crops and livestock operations. It alsohas a research farm at Hata, Nagano where scientists are diligently working towards the validation of Nature Farming.The INFRC also promotes the use of EM technology to stimulate the soil biota and enhance productivity.The international activities of INFRC range from being associated with the International Federation of OrganicAgriculture Movements (IFOAM), supporting the Asia Pacific Natural Agriculture Network (APNAN) and alsoresearch and development in many nations such as China, Laos and Myanmar.In the recent past, the INFRC has been accredited to certify organic products and farms under the JAS OrganicCertification scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture of Japan, which is now promoting Organic Agriculture. Thus, theINFRC is a very dynamic organization working diligently to provide a sustainable system of producing food throughNature Farming, based on principles of Mokichi Okada.

The INFRC can be contacted at:

International Nature Farming Research Center,8F, Atami Daiichi Building, 9-1 Taharahoncho,Atami, Shizuoka 413-0011 Japan.

Phone: +81 557 85 2001 Fax : +81 557 85 3156 Email : [email protected] : www.infrc.or.jp/english

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DEAR READERS……..

PLEASE NOTE!!!The next Scientific Conference of IFOAM will be held in Korea in 2011! This is thefirst time in the history of IFOAM, that the world congress is held in our continent– ASIA!!APNAN request all our readers and friends to submit abstracts of research andexperiences for possible presentation as Oral or Poster sessions at either thescientific sessions of ISOFAR or the World Organic Conference.Please contact us for further details – But we do request you in earnest to do somestudies with Nature Farming and EM and submit the abstracts to the conference.The details of submission will be on the web site in early 2011 – but we must planahead. We do look forward for your cooperation!! Please contact us at APNAN fordetails or check the IFOAM/ISOFAR websites for further details!!!!


INFRC


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Meeting of old friends

VIPs do the Kiwi traditional dance

I am solving problems

Rev. Amano says.. Can I sing ?

Traditions are respected

We are happy at APNAN

APNAN Bosses enjoy an eveningRev. Matsumoto and APNAN president

APNAN NEWS 20(2) final 2 NEWS 20(2).pdf · “In recent years, human health has been affected by residual poisons in the food that is consumed. Health budgets of nations are spent

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