Farmers' attitudes toward promoted organic agriculture in transformation: The case of Aya Town, Kyushu

Abstract

Organic agriculture is a global trend. In Japan, some local agricultural cooperatives, farmers, and local governments have tried to form organic agricultural production areas as a strategy for rural development. The aim of this study is to examine how farmers have accepted the promotion of organic agriculture in Aya Town, which has been one of the pioneering organic agricultural production areas in Japan. To attain this aim, the author investigated the agricultural structure of Aya Town. Then he undertook intensive interviews with farmers in the town, comprising 'natives' and 'newcomers'. Two communities were chosen for interviewing with the 'native' farmers; Odate, located in a hilly area where farmers tend to grow outdoor vegetables with no agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers; and Sakinota, located on a plain where most farmers engage in the production of hothouse cucumbers with 'less' chemicals. 'Newcomers' were chosen from all of the area of Aya Town and they had migrated there after 1986. In Aya Town, Mr. Gohda, the previous mayor served from 1966 to 1992, led the local government and the local agricultural cooperative to promote organic agriculture as a rural development strategy. The contexts were rapid depopulation in the town, and a lack of competitiveness from the management of the area and its agriculture in the 1960s. As a result of the promotion and the practice of organic agriculture, various changes have resulted in Aya Town. Firstly, the town has obtained a reputation as a pioneering organic production area. It has attracted new farmers and visitors from urban areas and this has become a source of pride for the residents. Secondly, the structure of agricultural production has changed. After failing to become a major production area for oranges in the 1960s, stock raising and hothouse cultivation of cucumbers have been the major agricultural products. Fruit and rice growing, which were originally smaller, have reduced. In this situation, organically grown outdoor vegetables have contributed to the conservation of farmland and the development of agriculture in the entire town, although the scale of the management is comparatively small. Thirdly, most native farmers have integrated into the system for the promotion of organic agriculture through registration to the public 'Organic Agriculture Development Center' since 1988. The promoters have given subsidies, advice, markets, and even organic certification services for farmers and they have reduced the gap with conventional agriculture. Moreover, collective changes in the practice of farming have given a sense of security to the farmers. However, farmers in Aya Town show differences in terms of attitudes toward the promoted organic agriculture. Notable differences were found between natives and newcomers, especially in attitudes towards the manner of promotion and the practices of the other farmers. Almost all newcomers are distrustful of the promotion and of native farmers' practices, and are critical of the lack of their frontier spirit. Such differences are caused by the dependence on public promotion, and thus some similarity is found among some native farmers who do not depend on it so much. Moreover, there are differences among local farmers' attitudes towards organic agriculture by area. In Odate, where the growing of outdoor vegetables is popular, farmers are more interested in organic agriculture than those in Sakinota are. In addition, in their narration the farmers in Odate refer to concrete issues about organic agriculture. In Sakinota, where most farmers engage in the growing of hothouse vegetables, farmers regard the promotion of organic agriculture positively but they do not see themselves as the main actors in developing organic agriculture. Such local differences are caused by existing local agricultural conditions especially in the main agricultural sectors. The promotion of organic agriculture in Aya Town has attached importance to the growing of outdoor vegetables, which originally had not been popular. However, its aim has been the formation of an organic production area including other agricultural sectors. As a result, practices of organic agriculture have extended to hothouse cultivation of vegetables, which is popular in Aya Town, in the shape of using 'less' agricultural chemicals and 'less' chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, differences in the scale of farm management were found. Larger farms have severe economic problems, while smaller farms have economic advantages in terms of marketing opportunities. Above all, the re is a great discrepancy and a lack of dialogue among farmers' attitudes even in a same organic production area. Farmers' policies toward their future management are a clear reflection of these attitudes; native farmers in Odate are positive to the present situation despite the problem of their successors, while those in Sakinota are negative and have a trend of cutting the scale down, and newcomers tend to pursue their own suitable farming systems and lives individually. On the other hand, after the change of mayor in 1992 no one has shown a clear prospect for Aya Town as an organic production area, while many problems such as low prices for agricultural products, growing competition among organic production areas, and a lack of successors for farms, are becoming acute. Unfortunately, Aya Town as an advanced organic production area has less sustainability considering the lack of a leader and the differentiation of farmers. In conclusion, the author would like to draw some implications from this study. Any organic production area has the possibility to lack a leader and have a differentiation of farmers. Therefore, to ensure the sustainability of organic production areas, two things are needed ; 1) settling arguments continuously so that any actors in the area can equally participate, 2) finding a focus which any actors in the area can share as a member of an organic production area and can practice depending on their circumstances. Moreover, this study showed that farmers' attitudes toward promoted organic agriculture decide the future of the production area. Hence, investigating the diversity of actors and their directions are crucial to understand the present situation of agricultural production areas and to predict their future, especially when we study organic production areas where the importance of non-economic aspects is emphasized.