The first purpose of this paper is to clarify the actual conditions of the finances of contract farming managed by agricultural public corporations. The second purpose is to analyse the prospects of improving the finances by fee increases and expanding farming areas. This study researched “A” Agricultural Public Corporation (AAPC) in Ehime prefecture, and “B” Agricultural Public Corporation (BAPC) in Kochi prefecture. The former type can be called “direct-operation type”, and the latter “recomission type”.
The results of the study are as follows: (1) The finances of AAPC contract farming are in the red, because the labour cost is great, and the high percentage of fixed costs elevates the break-even point. On the other hand, the finances of BAPC are in the black, because of the lower labour cost and lower percentage of fixed costs compared to the AAPC. (2) If contract farming is limited to paddy fields for early-season culture, the AAPC operation will continue to be in the red even at maximum output. Thus, one way that the operation can be made profitable is by expanding farming areas for normal-season culture, By contrast, the BAPC has the potential to keep its balance in the black, because many of its operators seek to expand their farming areas. (3) Neither the AAPC and BAPC can provide their farmers with enough finances for rent and wages under the present conditions, and so the possibility of fee increases for farming remains extremely remote.

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