農業経済研究
Online ISSN : 2188-1057
Print ISSN : 0387-3234
ISSN-L : 0387-3234
71 巻, 3 号
大会特集号
選択された号の論文の4件中1~4を表示しています
報告
  • 岩本 純明
    1999 年 71 巻 3 号 p. 107-117
    発行日: 1999/12/24
    公開日: 2017/01/18
    ジャーナル フリー

     The process for establishing the framework of postwar agricultural policy started just after the end of WorId War II, initiated by agricultural bureaucrats. Rural land reform was successfully implemented as an indispensable matter which contributed toward the restructuring of the policy framework in the agricultural sector.
     The high growth of the Japanese economy enabled the government to provide various types of subsidies to farmers, whereby the government could successfully attract political support from farmers. Although the Agricultural Basic Law in 1961 regarded the structural reform of the farming system as its main task, actual policies implemented under the law attached high priority to the rice price policy. The current framework of agricultural policy was thus established, where secret negotiations in the inner circle of a triad―politicians, bureaucrats and agricultural cooperatives―have continued to play a key role. The exclusiveness and opacity in the process of decision-making and policy implementation aroused a deep suspicion of its appropriateness among many people.
     After the mid-1980s, the current framework of agricultural policy has encountered great criticism from various social groups who have long been excluded from the decision-making process. The most influential criticism comes from big-business circles demanding to abolish or ease the governmental intervention on agricultural trade. Under the economic restructuring process, a number of people in Japan seem to be driven to self-help efforts and have become skeptical about the function of the public sector, which tendency has given an impetus to the restructuring of the policy framework in the agricultural sector. Under such a situation, however, we should not overlook a different stream of new social movements organized in the communal sector. The new stream fakes a critical stance to both the private and public sectors. The alternative framework of agricultural policy should be established through an equal partnership between farmers and the citizens.

  • 吉田 俊幸
    1999 年 71 巻 3 号 p. 118-130
    発行日: 1999/12/24
    公開日: 2017/01/18
    ジャーナル フリー

     With the introduction of the New Rice Policies, the Rice Price Stabilization Policy has been transformed into the Rice Producers' Farm Income Stabilization System. The new act is based on three main elements: (1) the New Production Adjustment Promotion Policy, (2) the Rice Farm Income Stabilization System, and (3) the Operation Reform for an Orderly Marketing System. In support of the act, the Voluntarily Marketed Rice Price Formation Center is to be used to ensure that prices more truly reflect the actual supply-demand situation of voluntarily marketed rice. The reason for this is that rice inventories accumulated too much and voluntarily marketed rice does not truly reflect the price in terms of the actual supply and demand; however, additional adjustments to rice production will be difficult to achieve. The promotion of the Rice Farm Income Stabilization System includes various reform measures: the Voluntarily Marketed Rice Price Formation Center should be the center of transactions and price formation of voluntarily marketed rice, the Rice Farm Income Stabilization System should be reformed about the standard price and so on, and the income of the wheat and soybeans produced in paddy fields maintain a balance in income of rice. This requires that budget expenditures for agricultural policies must be reconsidered.

  • 佐藤 了
    1999 年 71 巻 3 号 p. 131-141
    発行日: 1999/12/24
    公開日: 2017/01/18
    ジャーナル フリー

     This paper focuses on recent trends of upland farming systems (UFS) and the direction of the new agricultural policy from the viewpoint of UFS.
     Since the establishment of the Agricultural Basic Law in 1961, planted areas of upland crops have underwent three stages, namely, reduction stage, gradual recovery stage and fluctuating stage. We can withdraw relevant policy implications from experiences in the gradual recovery stage for designing effective upland farming policies, because both the upland crop rotation systems in Hokkaido and the rice-based rotation systems in irrigated paddy fields in Honshu developed in that period. These farming systems are still the basis of Japan's upland crops production.
     First, we examined how the agricultural policies affected the development of upland farming. Among others, the government's attitude to "globalization" and changes in price support policy were found to be the fundamental factors on the rise and fall of upland farming. Next even in Hokkaido where farmers have a comparative advantage in land using upland farming, the agronomically rational rotation systems could not appear without high price support and crop insurance schemes after the 1970s. Lastly, the form of paddy-upland convertible farming systems in Honshu could not exist unless the government added further price support for non-rice crops to promote rice conversion policy.
     Three policy implications are pointed out. First, it is neccessary to establish an upland farming promotion policy. Improving food self sufficiency was incorporated as one of the policy goals into the new agricultural law in response to people's demands, and is one step toward this end. Second, price support and/or income suport is neccessary to increase the production of upland crops. Third, in the long run, land improvement in both paddy fields and upland fields is still the basis of the above policies. Additionally, other policies which reinforce farm management are required.

  • 小林 信一
    1999 年 71 巻 3 号 p. 142-150
    発行日: 1999/12/24
    公開日: 2017/01/18
    ジャーナル フリー

     The livestock sector developed dramatically because of price support and import restriction policies under the Agricultural Basic Law, and also because of strong demand for livestock products. The sector, however, has been affected by the deregulation of trade and price support policies and stagnant demand. The production of most livestock products started to decline in the 1990s mainly due to a rapid decrease in the number of livestock farms. Meanwhile, the import of livestock products has continued to increase and the self-sufficiency rates have dropped greatly; for example, beef self sufficiency fell from 50 to 35 percent between 1990 and 1998.
     This paper analyzes responses by the livestock farmers under these depressed circumstance, and examines the effects of policies that focus on beef-cattle farming. Firstly, after market liberalization and the GATT Uruguay Round outcome, domestic wholesale prices for beef and pork were no longer controlled by the price stabilization scheme for beef and pork established in 1965. This is because this system could work only through the government using its monopoly position in the market to manipulate the import of these commodities.
     Secondly, the paper examines schemes designed to provide income support that were launched after liberalization. The deficiency payment scheme for feeder steers has effectively worked to support the producers of dairy feeder steers, while dairy farmers could not benefit from the scheme. Partly due to this, most dairy farmers introduced Wagyu semen into their herds to produce a more valuable hybrid dairy steer. This may harm milk production in the near future. It should also be pointed out that the scheme would not provide sufficient support for the income of Wagyu steer producers if the market price drops below the guaranteed price. This is simply because the support level is too low.
     The conclusion from the paper is that the current scheme needs to be modified. The scheme needs to be integrated with other schemes in the agricultural sector that have the purpose of maintaining agricultural land as well as supporting farm households.

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