The farm ministry unveiled new measures on Aug. 5 to help cattle farmers whose livestock were fed straw contaminated with radioactive cesium.
The farm ministry unveiled new measures on Aug. 5 to help cattle farmers whose livestock were fed straw contaminated with radioactive cesium.
The plan involves buying up all beef currently being stored in warehouses from around 3,500 head of cattle originating from farms in 17 prefectures.
The total cost of the buy-up is expected to reach about 86 billion yen ($1.1 billion).
If farmers are subsequently able to sell cattle from their farms or if they receive compensation for damages from Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, they would be required to repay that amount to the government.
In late July, after cattle shipments from Fukushima Prefecture were halted, the farm ministry announced an emergency measure to buy up beef found to contain levels of radioactive cesium that exceeded the government standard of 500 becquerels per kilogram.
However, other agricultural regions and farming associations called for an expansion of that program.
When the ban on cattle shipments was subsequently extended to cover three other prefectures--Miyagi, Iwate and Tochigi--farm minister Michihiko Kano said that new measures would be needed.
According to other measures in the new package, the government will also: cover the storage costs for beef that has already been shipped from the four prefectures where the shipment ban has been enforced; buy up cattle that would move past the prime shipment period due to the ban; and provide funds of 50,000 yen per head of cattle to those farmers in 13 prefectures that test cattle for radiation, to cover expenses until shipments are resumed.