2016 Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 425-447
One of the greatest problems of contemporary agriculture in Japan is how to maintain and develop food production. This paper discusses strategies for sustaining and developing agriculture in the Hokuriku district. There are two main types of successful farm successors: large-scale tenant farms and community farms. The three examples of large-scale tenant farms in Niigata and Ishikawa prefectures have sought profitable farm businesses and played an important role in sustaining farmland, farming, and rural communities. Large-scale tenant farms generally increase their scales of operation, develop multiple operations, and integrate production, processing, and marketing. On the other hand, community farms mostly focus on maintaining farming and the community in each locality. Our field studies suggest that both types of farms are expected to become dominant successors in the Hokuriku district.
