Changes in the Regional Agriculture of a Fruit-Growing Area from the Perspective of Social Capital: Case Study in Nagayo, Nagasaki Prefecture

Abstract

This study examined the roles of social connections between farmers and their relationships with outside actors to sustain agricultural production in fruit-growing areas from the perspective of social capital. Social capital is divided into two categories, bonding–bridging and structural–cognitive. The study area was the Koba district in the town of Nagayo, Nagasaki prefecture.

Having begun in the 1950s, cooperation within the region, such as the activities of a research association of kindred spirits for mandarin production, has progressed considerably. Recently, with growing awareness of the difficulties of sustaining agriculture, new types of cooperation have been sought. Cooperation in the Koba district has been based on structural-bonding social capital, such as roles in cooperative activities. Levels of cognitive-bonding social capital, such as the norms for cooperation and trust, continued to be high as some farmers undertook nonagricultural jobs or new types of agricultural management. Bridging social capital, which maintains relationships with government agencies, is sustained by the development of trust and supports new types of cooperation.