A Study on Structural Changes in the U.S. Grain Sector and the Direction of Agricultural Policy under the High Food Price Era

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24580324
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Agro-economics
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Isoda Hiroshi 九州大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (00193392)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 食料高価格 / 穀物価格暴騰 / コーンエタノール / アグロフュエル / フードレジーム / アメリカ農業 / アメリカ農業政策 / 穀作農業

Outline of Final Research Achievements

"The High Food Price Era" can be theoritically　characterized as the second phase of Mutinational Capital Food Regime, caused by the Agro-Fuel Project amed at surmounting over-accumlation both in agri-food and financial businesses. The U.S. corn ethanol industry has experienced two drastic reorganization processes during its rapid expansion period and negative profit period. Thereafter, this industry structure is topped by the largest four agro-fuel complex companies. In the grain agriculture, significant changes include: (A) the Corn Belt has expanded northwestward; (B) the expansion has led by large-sized farms; (C) these farms are characterized as large family farms benefitting lots of parasitic profits; and (D)but these farms have such actual and potential contradictions as sky-rocketted land price, high-valued machines and equipments, oversimplificaton of crop system, difficulty in generational succession, and loss of their autonomy.

Free Research Field

農業政策論