A regional comparative study for spread and establishment of direct payment system for environmentally friendly farming in Japan

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K21416
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Agricultural science in management and economy; Environmental policy and social systems
• Research Institution: Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University
• Principal Investigator: Kuwabara Takashi 日本獣医生命科学大学, 応用生命科学部, 講師 (10724403)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 環境保全型農業 / 直接支払 / 農業環境政策 / 農産物認証 / 生物調査

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to clarify the actual situations of utilizing the direct payment system which the government introduced in 2011 in order to promote environmentally friendly farming practices, and obtain a policy implication. We conducted a comparative analysis of four regions in Japan, where the direct payment system has been actively utilized. We found that the municipalities maintained the style of their previous support, through adding their own payments and utilizing regional discretion which has been prepared in the government's system. The style was either "small support widely" or "much support for high-level practice", depending on each region's strategy for promoting environmentally friendly farming practices. Furthermore, promoting cooperation between citizen groups which aim for environmental conservation and farmers was considered as an important policy issue. These suggest the direction of the government's direct payment system improvement.

Free Research Field

農業経済学・農政学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、これまでほとんど明らかにされてこなかった国内の環境支払制度の利用実態を、生産者・行政・農協・市民団体等に対する綿密な現地調査と地域比較を通じて明らかにし、政策的含蓄を提示した点である。社会的意義は、自然条件や販売戦略の地域的多様性（立地特性）に配慮し、「普及型」と「高度支援型」のように異なる方向性の支援が可能であるような制度設計が求められること、農業生産者と環境保全市民団体の連携強化が重要な政策課題であることを指摘した点である。