2017 Volume 69 Issue 1 Pages 101-119
Amidst the globalization and environmental changes in farming worldwide since the 1990s, multifunctional agriculture (MFA) has attracted much debate as to whether the worth of farming and agricultural villages will be discovered anew. In trade liberalization negotiations with the WTO at the center, in particular, significant subsidies for farming and agricultural villages in developed countries have become a target for the reduction of international rules, leading to the MFA being used politically by various countries; mainly European countries that require protection for farming. This study aims to clarify the background behind the emergence of MFA and its concepts from the viewpoint of their application to field research, focusing on the English and French research on MFA. This study also aims to clarify the political context and theoretical background of MFA. The MFA theory was developed in relation with the post-production principle that was proposed in the 1990s. The dichotomy between the production and post-production principles or the conceptual limits of the post-production principle led to the expansion of the MFA theory and the debate developed around the conceptual studies on MFA. On the other hand, the lack of empirical research of the post-production principle is similar to the MFA theory and the positioning of the practice and application of MFA theory to field research is discussed, focusing on the concepts of the geographer Wilson. In the application of the MFA theory, it is important to review the impact of the MFA theory on farmers from the viewpoint of the relation to policy and to understand MFA in a wider regional framework. Furthermore, it is essential for MFA to focus on differences in the poltical context and the geographical scale of each country, as well as on the mutual interactions between the macro context and the micro farmer.
