Dairy farmers in Fukushima Prefecture plan to build what they call ¡°reconstruction farms¡± by fiscal 2020 as part of efforts to boost the industry in the areas tainted by the 2011 nuclear disaster.

The Fukushima Dairy Farmers¡¯ Cooperative, their industry body, is eyeing three locations for the new farms ¡ª Minamisoma¡¯s Odaka Ward, the town of Kawamata¡¯s Yamakiya district and the village of Iitate ¡ª which residents were forced to flee after the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

The envisaged farms would host a combined 1,600 cows for milk production and also host a research and development hub for cutting-edge biotechnology, according to people familiar with the plan.