Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/63313

The purpose of this paper is to make clear the change of the vegetable producers in Tokachi district after the latter half of 1980's by the case study in Memuro town. In Tokachi district, large-scale upland farming has been developed largely, while vegetable production has been increasing rapidly after the latter half of 1980's. Memuro town is one of the largest vegetable production town in the district. Main findings are as follows 1) The number of vegetable producers has turned to decrease after the middle of 1990's, that makes the expansion of the vegetable planted acreage in the town slow down. 2) The difference of the proportion of vegetable producers among the farm size has almost disappeared and the proportion of large size farms in vegetable producers has increased in 1990's while the proportion of vegetable producer was higher in the small size farms before. The main factor of these changes is the expansion of field in the vegetable producers rather than the introduction of vegetable production in the large size farms. 3) Most of the farms that have expanded the vegetable-planted acreage have also expanded their field. But the proportion of the farms which expand both their vegetable planted acreage and field is lower in the large size farms. Nowadays the proportion of the large size farms is increasing. Also abandoned farms are increasing and the remaining farms expand their field through getting field from the abandoned farms in Tokachi district. Therefore it seems to become more difficult to expand vegetable-planted acreage in the district from now on.