Abstract
In Japan, the proliferation of organic farming has made little progress; in the meantime, the distribution channels of organic farm products have diversified. The purpose of this study is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sale of organic farm products in regions where organic farming has greatly proliferated, and to clarify the merits to farmers of diversified distribution channels. It was found that the availability of diversified distribution channels is effective in promoting organic farming within a r egion, for the following reasons: (1) Such channels make organic farming easier to manage for different types of farmers who work with various kinds of farming conditions, as they can choose the distribution channels most suitable to them, and (2) Such channels allow farmers to sell their products preferentially to contracted consumers and then the surplus to another channel, thus stabilizing their sales income. Thus, the provision of diversified distribution channels should make organic farming more attractive to a greater number of farmer.
