農産物の流通過程における労働力問題

農協流通施設における雇用労働力問題と物流環境の変化による産地出荷体制への影響を中心に

抄録

This paper clarifies the impact of labor shortages on the distribution of agricultural products. While a full analysis would include total agricultural product distribution, including each process, such as production, collection, fruit and vegetable sorting facility, shipment, market, processing, and retailing, the present research focuses on the following two points. The first issue is how to secure labor at agricultural cooperative distribution facilities (mainly fruit and vegetable sorting facilities) and the second issue concerns the labor shortage in the distribution of agricultural products. The problem of labor shortages in the fruit and vegetable sorting facility was due to efforts to stabilize the employment of laborers. These efforts included outsourcing, re-outsourcing, combinations of labor practices, and expansion together wit support by agricultural cooperatives. In other words, the organizational adjustment of employment developed in a multilayered manner. The broader problem of labor shortages in the distribution of agricultural products has already affected production areas, where remote production areas are limited in terms of shipping destinations. While methodological issues with the research remain, it is clearly necessary to examine essential issues such as the relationship between labor shortages and structurally low prices of agricultural products. Securing a sufficient labor force in the agricultural product distribution process is considered to play an important role in production support and shipment. However, this problem cannot be solved by responses undertaken by farmers and agricultural cooperatives alone. Therefore, urgent examination and countermeasures are necessary.