A Filipino technical intern picks strawberries from elevated beds as he backs down an aisle on a swivel chair in a greenhouse — a common scene in this mountainous area of central Japan known for highland agriculture.
Farmers from Benguet, an upland province on Luzon Island that is also a major vegetable producer, have been interning under a program sponsored by the government in the Yatsugatake region of Nagano Prefecture, which has a similar environment.
At the strawberry farm in the village of Minamimaki, six Filipinos work from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the harvest season from summer to fall, picking fruit as well as leaves to ventilate the plants, under the tutelage of Tatsuo Kikuchi, the 67-year-old owner.