Japanese farmers are seeing the soaring cost of wheat and flour as an opportunity to offer struggling food makers an alternative. Some growers in Saitama Prefecture north of Tokyo are banking on a kind of rice that can be used to make noodles.

Local government, agricultural and business officials have been growing the rice on a trial basis. They harvested the first lot on Monday. The rice can be ground into powder and then processed into noodles.

Nakada Tatsuo, an official of JA Saitamamizuho, said the team is aiming to develop products that are in demand with consumers. He said the declining price of rice has been squeezing incomes for growers, so the team is hoping to improve farming production and revenue.

The team will work with local restaurants to develop the rice into a range of noodle dishes.