Abstract
This study analyzed trends of changes in agricultural labor force and farm succession between 2015 and 2020 using the 2020 Census of Agriculture and Forestry data. The results of the analysis revealed the following points. The first one is the stagnation of farm succession. The decrease in the number of farm managers follows the same trend as that in the past. In particular, the 2020 Census data showed a decline in the number of farm household members engaged in agriculture. The second point is that the share of agricultural corporations in domestic agriculture is increasing. In farms having small and medium-sized livestock such as pigs and chickens, agricultural corporations account for the majority of livestock production. The third point is that there is an increase in the number of employees in some farms and agricultural corporations: the number of employees in farms declined significantly from 2015 to 2020. However, some farms and agricultural corporations have increased the number of employees and expanded the scale of operation. The fourth point is the rapid aging of managers of agricultural corporations. More than 30% of agricultural corporations have not been able to secure successors. These results indicate that succession measures are an urgent issue for not only farmers but also agricultural corporations.
