Masanobu Fukuoka - Criticism

Criticism

In the preface to The One-Straw Revolution, Wendell Berry wrote that the Natural Farming system would not be directly applicable to most American farms. Fukuoka's techniques have proven difficult to apply, even on most Japanese farms, and are seen as too technically demanding for most people to follow. It has been described as a sophisticated approach despite its simple appearance. In the initial years of transition from conventional farming there are losses in crop yields. Fukuoka estimated these to be 10% while others, such as Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, have found lead to crop failures and require many years of adaption to make the principles work leading to the criticism that the "do-nothing" technique was a "grow-nothing" technique.

Critics argue that his rejection of mechanisation is not justifiable for modern agricultural production and that the system cannot interact effectively with conventional agricultural systems.

In Japan, where Fukuoka had few followers or associates, his critics argue that the "inner world and the connection between humans and nature does not, however, exhaust reality" and that he did not give sufficient attention to interpersonal relationships or society. His influence is likened to that of a "strict and authoritarian grandfather figure" having a tendency to "theorize in a grand way" but not always to be practical.