Nepali farmers cash in on a crop used to make Japanese banknotes

Puskar Jirel used to grow agricultural produce on the foothills of the Himalayas in northeastern Nepal, but six years ago, he started planting a high-value evergreen shrub, which is used to make Japanese banknotes.

“It’s a good source of income for many in the village, especially during the season when we are not busy in our farms,” Jirel said.

Due to a shortage of Japanese manufacturers, foreign-produced mitsumata have been used as raw material to make banknotes since 2010, including from China and Nepal, the bureau told This Week in Asia.

Unlike most nations which increasingly use digital and cashless payment options, cash is still widely used in Japan.

Osaka-based Kanpou Incorporated, which helps the Japanese government source mitsumata, first experimented with growing the shrub in Nepal in the 1990s. The company was then on a charity mission helping farmers dig wells in Nepali villages when it identified the prospect and trained them to produce mitsumata.

Hari Shrestha, managing director of Kanpou Nepal, has seen the growth first-hand. Before starting his company in Nepal, he worked at Kanpou Incorporated for 25 years and now shuttles between Osaka and Kathmandu, ensuring that Nepali farmers’ products meet Japanese levels of quality.

“It’s a very challenging process,” Shrestha explained. “You have to be wary of the moisture, and the bark has to be white with no stains whatsoever to meet the Japanese standard.”

Argeli mostly grows in altitudes between 1,500 and 3,000 metres, making Nepal’s hilly regions a suitable location.

In Jiri, a hilly town located about 185km from the capital Kathmandu, Jirel said locals mostly formed groups of about 15 people to plant argeli on their designated land. According to the 43-year-old