Abstract
The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the name of scientific and technological progress in agriculture, which is so called "conventional agriculture", has led to an expansion of productivity and labor saving on the part of producers within a short period of time, but overuse has caused serious environmental deterioration, viz., soil depletion and water pollution. The overall production has actually led to a decrease of the volume of production and adverse effects on the human body.
In response to this, an environmental-preservation type of agriculture, or "cycloid" agriculture, has been revived and has emerged as an alternative to the conventional agricultural method. The cyclical method primarily utilizes botanical organisms in the natural ecology, viz., it calls for the revitalization of more traditional methods of agricultural production.
In the environmental-preservation•cycloid method, a symbiosis between agricultural production and the natural ecology is essential. To realize this, rigid observation, keen insight, and, quite often, manual labor are recognized as key factors in the success of agricultural production.
However, the productivity of this method is generally less, or much less especially during the shift time from the conventional agriculture to the cycloid one. Consequently, agricultural producers struggle to manage their farming businesses. As a result, it is very difficult to increase the number of producers who will commit to this method, in spite of the fact that its advantages to the environment as well as to lives of living creatures are widely recognized. Therefore, in order to promote cycloid agriculture, it is imperative to present successful business models of it
This study covers three specific types of cycloid farming methods: two types involving rice producers and one type of vegetable producer.
