Photo/Illutration Stone terraced mikan orchards are seen on mountain slopes in the Arida-Shimotsu region in Wakayama Prefecture. (Provided by the Wakayama prefectural government)

WAKAYAMA—A traditional mikan cultivation method, which dates back at least 400 years, has been recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The stone-terrace orchard system that has been handed down through generations in the Arida-Shimotsu region of Wakayama Prefecture was added to the GIAHS list on Aug. 27.

That marked the 17th agricultural system in Japan to make the prestigious list and is expected to help Wakayama preserve its mikan cultivation system. 

“I’m glad because we have one more thing that we can offer to the world with pride,” Wakayama Governor Izumi Miyazaki said during a news conference the same day. “We expect that the biggest benefit (from the GIAHS recognition) is that it will expand sales channels. We must also think about how to welcome tourists.”

An association comprised of representatives from the prefectural government, five regional municipalities and agricultural cooperatives applied to FAO in October 2023 for the GIAHS designation.

According to prefectural officials, FAO conducted a field survey in July this year.

For centuries, farmers have built stone terraced orchards, planted diverse mikan varieties and cultivated “unshu mikan,” which are adapted to grow on slopes.

The system is also characterized by its unique storage method, which allows farmers to keep their produce fresh a long time during shipping.

This is the second agricultural system in Wakayama Prefecture to be designated as a GIAHS site, after the Minabe-Tanabe ume apricot cultivation system was added in fiscal 2015.

Currently, 102 agricultural systems worldwide have made the list.

The storage and ripening system for mikan in the Shimotsu region was also recognized as a Japanese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage System in fiscal 2018, as was the Arida mikan cultivation system, which laid the foundations for mikan cultivation, in fiscal 2020.

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