Gunma

Gunma is located in the northwestern part of the Kanto region and is an inland prefecture surrounded by mountains on three sides. The Jomo Sanzan (Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna, and Mount Myogi) and the 2,000 m-class mountainous areas in the north, such as Mount Tanigawa and Mount Hotaka, form a continuous range, and the climate varies greatly depending on the elevation difference. The northwestern highland area, which includes Tsumagoi Village, ranges from 800 to 1,400 m in elevation, and the cool climate even in summer has formed a major production area for Cabbage. Tsumagoi Cabbage comes from an important production area that supports the national market during the summer, and the highland-specific fog and short sunlight hours affect its quality. Around Shimonita Town, the production area for Shimonita negi (green onion) has been maintained since the Edo period, and its unique thickness and strong sweetness are evaluated by chefs. Many rivers, including the Tone River, Agatsuma River, and Karasu River, flow south, and wet rice, wheat, and soybeans are produced in the plains around Maebashi City and Takasaki City. Gunma is also traditionally a major production area for konnyaku (konjac), and konnyaku imo (konjac yam) is cultivated around Shimonita Town, Kanra Town, and Yoshii Town, with an overwhelmingly high national share of its processed products. In the livestock industry, brands such as Akagi gyu (beef) and Joshu wagyu (beef) are also developed.

Source: MAFF Crop Statistics (Reiwa 5 / 2023), JMA historical weather data

The uniqueness of agriculture in Gunma lies in three-dimensional agriculture that makes maximum use of elevation differences. By selectively using the respective climate zones of the plains, intermediate areas, and highland areas, products with different characteristics such as konnyaku, Cabbage, and Green Onion / Negi have been cultivated to a high share within the same prefecture. In particular, Tsumagoi Cabbage plays a role in directly supporting the dining tables of large consumption areas in the summer market supply, and has a scale where a poor harvest in the production area affects national vegetable prices. Regarding konnyaku, the high barrier to entry of taking 3 to 4 years to cultivate is one of the factors maintaining the concentration of the production area. It is also worth noting that by having region-specific varieties that are difficult to reproduce outside the production area, such as Shimonita negi, brand differentiation is linked to geographical advantage. Despite being located inland, logistics to the Tokyo metropolitan area centered on the Kan-Etsu Expressway have been established, and the short transportation time from the production area to the consumption area is also a source of competitiveness.