Shizuoka’s Chagusaba farming method (traditional Tea-grass Integrated System in Shizuoka)
A traditional tea farming method “CHAGUSABA” has been conducted primarily in Shizuoka Prefecture for many years. The method is a circular agriculture, creating harmony between human beings and nature.
“Cha (茶)” means tea, “gusa (kusa) (草)” means grass and “ba (場)” means place in Japanese. The grasses are called Chagusa (茶草) and the grasses habitats are called Chagusaba (茶草場). Chagusa is semi-natural grassland.
Grasses such as pampas, bamboo grasses, etc. around tea fields are cut and put in furrows between tea plants as mulch. These grasses become compost in the tea fields.
Using Chagusaba, the grasses around tea fields are mowed so that small flora and fauna can continue to live by receiving ample sunlight. This farming method maintains the environment and biodiversity.

Shizuoka’s CHAGUSABA farming method conducted in these four cities (Kakegawa, Kikugawa, Makinohara and Shimada) and one town (Kawanehon) in Shizuoka Prefecture was certified as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2013. However, the CHAGUSABA farming method has been conducted in some places other than these five locations in Shizuoka Prefecture and in some other prefectures of Japan as well.

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