Tōhoku region
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshū due to the stronger effect of the Siberian High, and permits only one crop a year on paddy fields.
Savu
Agricultural production on Savu includes corn, rice, roots, beans, livestock (meat/milk), and seaweed, which was introduced by Japanese interests, in the early 1990s. Pigs, goats, and chickens are commonplace in the villages. Those farmers who depend on mixed-crop gardens or on mung bean fields are generally better able to manage during times of poor rain, but are seemingly less successful when the rains are good. Corn, as a single crop, remains the predominant staple on Savu, though most farmers try to plant several different fields to increase their chances of at least one successful harvest. Cotton is the main crop on Rai Jua, where the standard of living is below that of Savu. It is used to make traditional textiles. Corn is planted in late November, December, or early January and harvested from February through March; rice and mung beans are planted later, usually in January, after soils are well saturated with rain. In El Niño years, farmers are frequently misled by initial rains, which offer promise, but then cease. Most farmers keep some seed reserves if they are forced to plant a second time during the wet season. Rarely do farmers have sufficient seed reserves for a third attempt at planting, and by the time such a third planting seems necessary, little likelihood of success remains. By mid-March, the rains begin to diminish and planting corn with any expectation of a good harvest is no longer possible.