2020 Volume 39 Issue Special_Issue Pages 232-237
Community-based farming organizations have played a role as leaders in local agriculture. However, many communities face the challenge of not being able to secure successors due to the aging population and the increasing number of part-time farmers. In response to the challenge, some cases from communities that aimed to assist agricultural newcomers have been reported ; these novice farmers receive training and ultimately take over the entire farming management. This study elucidates the development of the successorʼs place-attachment to communities and a community-based farming organization, and the characteristics of successorʼs personal networks using a case study of an agricultural newcomer in Yamagata Prefecture. We used a combination of the following methods : measurement of regional and organizational commitment, personal network analysis, and interview surveys. The main findings are as follows : ⑴ the affective commitment was high for both regional and organizational commitment. The calculative commitment also tended to be higher. This was attributed to the fact that the successor was able to increase the agricultural income by joining the agricultural organization. ⑵ The successorʼs networking efforts mainly involved neighbors in the communities and with those involved in farming. Stronger relationships with neighbors led to developing higher levels of both affective and calculative commitment, which comprise regional commitment. In addition, relationships with those involved in farming led to higher calculative commitment of the organizational commitment. In order to build such a strong network, not only the successorsʼ own efforts in farming but also active involvement and assistance of the community residents and agricultural organization are indispensable.
