"Web 3.0 x Rice" project "Aiming for 1 million koku feudal lord" Close look at the "Kokudaka Project" to preserve the scenery and culture of Nishiaizu Town

First of all, we think it's fun

Please tell us about the background and purpose of launching the "Kokudaka Project".

Yukihiro Nagahashi (hereinafter, Nagahashi): The "Kokudaka Project" is set in Nishiaizu Town, Fukushima Prefecture, which has a population of less than 6,000. Nishiaizu Town is currently experiencing a rapid population decline, and the aging rate is over 50%.

Nishiaizu Town is a region that has various conditions and environments, and although it is not well known, it is a region where very delicious rice is grown, and there are farmers who have won gold medals at the National Taste Contest, making it a very prosperous rice growing region. That is why the Kokudaka Project, which is themed around rice cultivation, was born.

The purpose of launching the project is, of course, to create a situation where more rice will be purchased, but the background is the idea of ​​conveying the feelings of why we want to preserve the culture and scenery of our region.

Nishiaizu Town still has a lifestyle that could be called the "original scenery of Japan". The streetscape and settlements of Nishiaizu Town have not changed much since the Edo period.

This means that the same scenery has been flowing for hundreds of years. One factor behind this may be that it has not been too affected by modern economic growth, but the fact that this human-scale lifestyle still exists and that people actually live there is something precious.

Sustainability is attracting attention in society, and Nishiaizu has a track record of continuing to live a traditional sustainable lifestyle. I believe that by utilizing technology in these regions and continuously updating them, we can propose a form of sustainability that is uniquely Japanese.

What is the key to this project?

Nagahashi: It is rice farming. Rice farming is not just a task of producing food, but also an act of "creating a landscape" and has originally played a role as the foundation of life and culture.

Rice fields are a place to store water from the mountains and also help to ensure biodiversity. In terms of culture, village self-governance and annual events have also been formed based on the rice farming cycle.

We started the project last year, and two farmers who sympathize with the above-mentioned feelings have participated. They are farmers who aim for sustainable agriculture with the desire to "preserve the landscape of rice fields and rich soil for the next generation."

Even while facing various challenges, they work hard to produce delicious rice while communicating with nature, and we think of farmers like them as "artists." With the Kokudaka Project, we hope to create a system and culture that supports such artists.

Please tell us about the features of the Kokudaka Project.

Nagahashi: First of all, I think there is a technical feature.

The Kokudaka System is built on the basis of a protocol for distributing contribution rewards by tokens developed by Questly Inc., and by linking tokens to real assets such as rice, it realizes a new rice purchasing experience.

In addition to supporting farmers who are artists, the Kokudaka System also strengthens relationships with people who have been involved in Nishiaizu in the past as volunteers and others.

The tokens use NTT (Non Transferable Token), a non-transferable NFT, and function as a certificate of contribution. NTT is issued in detail to each person who has contributed, and rewards are distributed based on the level of contribution based on that.

In reality, it is natural that the level of contribution of each person in a community is different. The Questly Protocol is an attempt to realize this digitally. The Kokudaka Project has two types of contributions.

First, participants contribute financially to farmers by purchasing pre-harvest rice.

The other is non-monetary contributions through volunteering, participating in events, advertising on social media, etc. For these two contributions, NTTs called "Rice Boards" and "Labor Boards" will be issued.

After the rice harvest, "Rice Bills" will be distributed as a reward based on the level of contribution, which is determined by the number of boards held. This is the NFT, and its role is as a "rice exchange ticket." By applying to exchange these rice bills, the actual rice will be delivered to you.

And as you can see, the biggest feature of the Kokudaka Project is its design and worldview.

The key phrase is "old and new," and we wondered what kind of world and future we could imagine when we combined elements of rural life and the Edo period with technology like Web 3.0. With that in mind, we created the game with a relaxed feel, like a rice pun, so that anyone can enjoy participating.

In addition, as your contribution points accumulate, the "status" of your account in the app will increase. You start as a "peasant" and it's a long journey to become a "daimyo." That's what we meant when we advertised, "Aim for a daimyo with 1 million koku."

You said that you can buy rice before the harvest, but does that mean that the amount of rice users can get can decrease depending on the harvest?

Nagahashi: That's right. We are trying to realize a situation where producers and consumers share the risk of poor harvests and rejoice together in good harvests. For consumers, this means getting closer to the food, and for producers, it is intended to stabilize rice farming operations.

Farmers run their businesses by farming rice, which is a business that deals with nature, so there is always a risk that they will fall below the break-even point due to the effects of uncertain weather, etc. It is difficult to invest in sustainable agriculture under such circumstances. So, in order to support such farmers as much as possible, we have a system in place where consumers also share the negative impact of the average harvest.

For example, if you buy 5 kilograms of rice before the harvest, you may receive 4 kilograms because the harvest was poor this year. On the other hand, if the harvest was good, you may receive 6 kilograms.

This may seem like a disadvantage to consumers, but we want them to enjoy the food in the sense that it is something that they own. By buying rice, you may become interested in the weather forecast for Fukushima Prefecture, or be happy to see the rice you bought grow when you visit the area. And the rice you taste with these things in mind will surely taste even better.

Why did you incorporate Web 3.0 elements?

Nagahashi: It was originally through personal connections that we decided to collaborate with Questly, but when we discussed our issues and ideas, they suggested that we "use our own assets to make it happen," and so we have arrived at our current form.

I think Web 3.0 technology has a lot of potential, and it is particularly compatible with finance. As part of the Kokudaka Project, we feel that by utilizing this technology, we can realize the type of economy we want. Like what Michael Ende calls "perishable money," can we build a system of value exchange based on the natural capital of rice? That is the kind of challenge we are taking.

Using next-generation technology to pass on history and culture to future generations

Please tell us about your future developments and enthusiasm.

Nagahashi: At the moment, we are considering two types of future developments. Specifically, there are two points: "expansion" and "deepening."

First, in terms of "expansion," we are considering linking the secondary circulation function of rice bills and the local currency function.

For now, the use of purchased tokens is limited to rice and goods, but I would like to be able to trade between users through local currency and exchange for products other than rice.

In the future, I think it would be fun to connect with other regions in a similar system and be able to exchange local products with each other, in a sense without money.

Currently, we are also considering launching a local currency like "Nishiaizu Coin," and we would like to be able to trade rice bills with such a currency. We are looking forward to circulating and using this local currency beyond the town of Nishiaizu.

For example, if livestock farming is popular in other regions, we would like to create a system where they can be exchanged for rice from Nishiaizu Town. We envision a future where bartering is possible without the use of money. This will also make it possible to create more connections between regions than ever before.

Also, while Nishiaizu is a rice farming town, I think that other regions have similar issues in other industries. Therefore, we are considering expanding the system we created here so that it can be used in other regions. In addition, I think that connections with the world will become important in the future, so I would like to proceed with the project with a global perspective.

Next, in terms of digging deeper, we will make the system of the rice yield project fit Nishiaizu town. I would like to create ways and routes to participate in the rice yield project, such as communicating with farmers and digging up experience content related to rice farming.

If we can dig deeper, I think that we can realize applications in other regions as mentioned above. Therefore, we would like to focus particularly on digging deeper, even while considering the expansion.

The important thing there is to do what we think is fun first. I hope that we can expand the circle with people who think it is good and participate.

And in that atmosphere, I would like to convey rice farming and local culture.

Profile

◉Yukihiro Nagahashi

CEO of LONGBRIDGE Co., Ltd.

Nishiaizu Town Regional Revitalization Cooperation Volunteer

Born in Tokyo in 1991. Appointed as Nishiaizu Town Regional Revitalization Cooperation Volunteer (Digital Strategy) in 2022. Serving as project manager for the "Ishidaka Project".