Dirty thieves plague paddies
Dirt cheap — dirty thieves
Rice farmers dirty on soil thieves
SANDA, Hyogo Japan — Police and local farmers are on high alert following a series of soil thefts over the last three winters from rice paddies here. The prefectural agricultural center in Sanda wonders why thieves target soil in rice paddies….”do you think thieves dare steal soil just for the purpose of gardening?” Kiyoko Takashima, leader of a local gardening club, said rice paddy soil was not suitable for gardening because it contained too much clay..more…
As a rice farmer myself, these dirt thieves sound rather crazy. The soil in tambo (田圃) –that is, rice paddies– is like heavy, thick glue. Nowadays, the soil is chemically loaded with nasty pesticides and toxins. I can’t image why anybody would want to steal this nasty soil, except another rice field owner who needs soil because of a flooding washout of topsoil. The prefectural agricultural center ought to looking at their own surveys of topsoil losses to find the culprits.
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