open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/49080

大規模水田地帯における組織法人化と経営改善に関する研究

Study on“Incorporated Cooperative Farm Management”and the Improvement of Farm Management in Large-scale Rice Paddy Area

日本語

2012-03-23

北海道大学大学院農学研究院

Memories of the Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University

32(2)

195-271

The business environment of rice farming has deteriorated because of the continuous decline in rice prices since the late 1990s. In regions where agricultural land is actively bought and sold,large-scale farmers have a heavier debt burden than small-scale farmers. Towards finding a way out of these circumstances, farmers have started“incorporated cooperative farm management”. This paper aims at identifying the improvements in farm management that are brought by incorporated cooperative farm management. First,the historical background of such management is analyzed. In areas where large-scale rice farming predominates,smaller farmers have pursued organizational restructuring toward achieving incorporated cooperative farm management. Being heavily indebted,these farmers formed cooperatives for shared use of farm machinery and joint ownership of farmland. These efforts, however,failed to ameliorate their cash-flow problems. Second,a survey shows that incorporated cooperative farm management has brought about positive results, including improvement of investment conditions. The rationalization of production that is achieved by incorporated cooperative farm management is characterized by several advantages: 1)Operating efficiency is enhanced because the lot size of each paddy field is increased and each different rice variety is grown collectively in adjoining paddy fields;2)Competition between farm operations is avoided;3) Fertilizer application management is upgraded because responsibilities are divided among farmers for various crop varieties;and 4) Farming on a larger scale offsets the risks of trial growing. Additionally,analysis was conducted to identify attitudinal and local conditions that affect the success of farm management improvement efforts. Third,analysis of management in terms of profitability and financial stability reveals that incorporated cooperative farm management helps to increase the value added as a result of modified use of paddy fields,rationalization of production and upgrading of farm management. It is also indicates that incorporated cooperative farm management provides each cooperative member with a level of income that enables debts to be paid off. Incorporated cooperative farm management also affords financial stability. In conclusion,incorporated cooperative farm management is a form of farm management by principal farmers in agricultural regions where agricultural land is actively bought and sold and farmers face difficulties in individually sustaining their farms.

紀要論文

Version of Record

1881-8064

AA12190860