Partnerships between sake brewers and rice farmers within the sake supply chain

Abstract

Recently, short food supply chains (SFSCs) have been closely watched as a new supply style. SFSCs result from the active building of networks by various agencies, such as farmers, food processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. A key characteristic of an SFSC is its capacity to short-circuit the long, anonymous supply chains peculiar to the industrial mode of food production. Therefore, producer-consumer relations within SFSCs are physically and socially shortened. In Japan, the SFSC is one of the key dimensions of new rural development and advocated as a possible strategy for differentiation by regional enterprises and farmers. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of establishing and expanding an SFSC, focusing on the partnership between sake brewers (locality-based enterprises A and B) and rice farmers. It first investigated the features of the cooperative relationship between the brewers and farmers. It then examined how the partnership is built and shaped over time. Finally, how the partnership affects each agency's interpretations and behaviors was examined. The results are summarized as follows. 1) The partnership between sake brewers and rice producers was established through the concurrence of each agency's expectations for social alternatives of close relations (such as "personal interactions" and "close exchanges of information"). 2) In the cooperative relationship, alternative qualities of sake rice ("organic", "natural", "safe", etc.) and spatial proximity among agencies are stressed. Therefore, in the evolution of cooperation, agencies' expectations for partnerships have converged through natural food networks and neighboring relations inside the producing district in addition to approaches from brewers or rice farmers. 3) The effects of the partnership on sake brewers and rice farmers include the following five. First, the partnership creates mutual trust between sake brewers and rice farmers. Second, it results in the evolution of networks in which each of them takes part. Third, it requires financial support for rice farmers by brewers. Fourth, it boosts the market competitiveness of brewers and rice farmers. Finally, it increases the risk of rice production and procurement.