Is a stepwise compliance levels within a single GAP standard necessary: The case of Thailand's Q-GAP for vegetable value chains

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H02292
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 41020:Rural sociology and agricultural structure-related
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: Amekawa Yuichiro 立命館大学, 国際関係学部, 准教授 (00743634)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 森高 正博 九州大学, 農学研究院, 准教授 (20423585)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 食の安全 / 国営適正農業規範 / キャベツ / 唐辛子 / チェンマイ県 / タイ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we sought to assess the effectiveness of Thailand’s Q-GAP standard by examining the compliance of producers in the production process management related to Q-GAP certification through comparison between Q-GAP certified farmers and non-certified farmers in Thailand. For this purpose, case studies of two crops, cabbage and chili pepper, were conducted. For cabbage, we conducted a socio-economic survey of 41 Q-GAP certified farmers and 90 non-certified farmers, and also collected crop samples for pesticide residue analysis. The results were presented in a paper published in an international journal called Sustainability in June 2021. For chili pepper, we have obtained data from 100 certified farmers and 229 non-certified farmers in the same way, and are currently analyzing them.

Free Research Field

農業社会学、環境社会学、環境の政治経済学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果がもつ学術的意義は、Q-GAP認証農家のコンプライアンスの実態を解明する上で、参加農家のコンプライアンス（工程管理）に関する社会科学考究と残留農薬検査（結果管理）による自然科学分析を有機的かつ選択的に関係づけることを通じて、工程管理が結果に及ぼす多様な因果関係を明らかにすることである。また、認証農家が非認証農家と比べてどの程度多くの残留農薬を結果するかに関して得られた知見は、Q-GAP政策の見直しという観点から社会的意義があるといえる。