AKITA -- Masakazu Miyakawa, 38, a resident of the village of Ogata in Akita Prefecture, sat in his flower seedling greenhouse one April night three years ago, worrying about his farm.
The idea that he should give up growing rice was on his mind. Rice and flowers are not compatible, he thought, because both crops need maximum attention at about the same time of the year.
His idea was that if he stopped growing rice and devoted himself solely to planting flowers, everything would be all right.