Rice production is facing a price slump. It is important to increase the added-value of rice through direct marketing from producers to consumers and businesses as part of income generation measures in individual rice production management, especially at large-scale farms. However, even such direct marketing practices are faced with severe price competition. This situation necessitates a business model that creates customer values and generates profit in a series of activities from production to sales. This paper looks at an example of a large-scale cooperative corporation A in Hokkaido that practices direct marketing of rice as a staple food in order to study their business strategy of direct marketing based on a business model theory. The study found that important points for business strategies include: 1) designing a series of value creating activities from procurement of production materials, sales, marketing, and service as a value chain that is consistent with a certain segment of customers, which is the customers here; 2) selling to these customers at premium prices; at the same 3) adding value creating activities that are consistent with another segment of customers, which is the businesses based on the value chain; and 4) providing the products at lower prices to meet the reservation price estimated by the customers.

This study investigates the determinants of cocoon prices under trade contracts that prevailed during the inter-war period in Japan between silk-reeling companies and cocoon farmer cooperatives (Tokuyaku Torihiki). The contract documents show that the process of cocoon price agreements incentivized the cooperative and its member farmers to improve ­cocoon quality and to reduce the risk of cocoon ­prices. However, the results of the estimated price determinants did not support these predictions. Competition with other forms of trade and between companies that adopted the trade contract might have weakened these functions of the trade contract.

In many cases of local biodiesel fuel (BDF) production, the demand for BDF is greater than the BDF produced from the available supply of waste edible oil (WEO). In order to bridge this gap, it is important to analyze the factors affecting households’ intention to cooperate in supplying WEO, and identify measures to improve this intention, as a lot of household WEO is currently disposed as burnable waste. This study then analyzed these factors by using cross tabulation and quantification theory II based on the results of a questionnaire survey distributed to the inhabitants in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Finally, we present measures to improve households’ intention to supply WEO.

International food price shocks in 2007/8, 2011 and 2012 caused large-scale foreign investment in land for the purpose of fostering food security. Large-scale land acquisitions have occasionally left small landholders and their communities in crisis of survival, because they meant the loss of the lands that were their major method of livelihood. In Japan, there are few research papers on such acts of ‘land grabbing’. However, the current administration of Japan promotes foreign agricultural investment, and introduced the so-called ProSAVANA project in Northern Mozambique which created severe negative impact on local societies. This paper examines the general trends in global land acquisition, followed by the political background of ProSAVANA, which is closely related with the G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and African Agricultural Growth Corridor initiated at the World Economic Forum, and what is happening under ProSAVANA.The main purpose of the ProSAVANA project is to promote soybean production. If this purpose is fully realized, Mozambique can achieve the status of a major soybean exporting country. This change will reorganize agro-food regime in soybean, which means the movement of the new agro-food regime which integrates the whole process of the soybean supply chain by vertical division of labor in multinational agribusinesses and linkages with new agribusinesses in emerging countries like Brazil. Finally, I suggest some points to be discussed about large-scale land acquisition and raise the ethical question of the mission of the researcher who is engaged in studying such forms of land grabbing.

This paper aims to clarify the effects of changes in Direct Payments for Hilly and Mountainous Areas (DPHMA) on farmer organizations in target areas. DPHMA began in 2000 and has changed every 5 years. This study recognizes 3 dimensions of change in DPHMA. The first dimension is "enlargement," the second, "thinking strategically," and the third, "strengthening cooperation." Farmer organizations have adapted to these changes.Enlargement of each farmer organization's farming area was observed by analyzing the data statistically; small farmer organizations preferred to unite and thus become bigger.In the case of the F district in Shimane prefecture, two villages established one farmer organization as an extension of a farmer cooperation program in 2010. Their future master plan includes securing, developing, and make good use of human resources. It is notable that some farming lands that were about to be abandoned found a new lease of life.

The aims of this paper are to overview the developing process of rural policies in Japan and provide an insight into the essence of their new phase. Rural areas have come to crises of community and economy since the 1990s. The depopulation in rural areas has had an impact on weekend community cohesion and economic performance. Under this situation, grassroots movements have occurred that provide a framework for rural regeneration. Some local governments have tried to promote them through drastic steps.In contrast, countermeasures by the central government were lagging behind owing to various reasons such as reforms of decentralization.Various kinds of new policies have been gradually developed under political tension on rural issues since the late 2000s. We can see the emergence of a new phase of rural policies in Japan. Nevertheless the power of local government, which should have a close connection with the central government for rural regeneration, is weakening because of local government amalgamations. Therefore this new phase seems to be a fragile structure.

農業生産の効率性の分析において技術効率を分析することが一つの有益な方法である．本稿では，以上の観点からネパールのタライ地方の種子米生産者における技術効率について推察した．その際，技術効率に影響を与えうる社会経済的要素について，三つの異なる地域（郡）における現地調査による各60戸，計180戸の農家のデータを用い，二段階のモデル分析によって考察を行った．先ずは，確率的フロンティア生産モデルによって種子米生産における技術効率を五つの生産要素－種子，労働，化学肥料，家畜，土地面積を説明変数として算出した．そして，OLS分析によって同技術効率に与えうる九つの社会経済的要素－世帯主の年齢，教育，研修，家族労働，水利費，地代，経験，非農業収入，立地の影響について推定した．その結果，技術効率は81％（36.7％～95.2％）で，それを説明するには世帯主の教育，種子米生産の経験及び地代に代用される土地の質が有効であることが判明した．農業生産の効率性の分析において技術効率を分析することが一つの有益な方法である．本稿では，以上の観点からネパールのタライ地方の種子米生産者における技術効率について推察した．その際，技術効率に影響を与えうる社会経済的要素について，三つの異なる地域（郡）における現地調査による各60戸，計180戸の農家のデータを用い，二段階のモデル分析によって考察を行った．先ずは，確率的フロンティア生産モデルによって種子米生産における技術効率を五つの生産要素－種子，労働，化学肥料，家畜，土地面積を説明変数として算出した．そして，地代，経験，非農業収入，立地の影響について推定した．その結果，技術効率は81％（36.7％～95.2％）で，それを説明するには世帯主の教育，種子米生産の経験及び地代に代用される土地の質が有効であることが判明した．

The Census of Agriculture and Forestry is one of the most important statistical surveys, which assumes the role of establishing a population frame for sample surveys, and of understanding the structure of the agriculture and forestry industry, and is implemented once every five years by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. After the results are publicized, various quantitative analyses of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry are carried out by researchers. However, advanced quantitative analyses that take advantage of the characteristics of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry have not been carried out adequately. The advanced usage method of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry constructs new data sets through data linkage, and carries out analyses using that data. There are two types of data linkage, and the first type is a linkage with the microdata of multiple years of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry, and the second one is a linkage with the microdata of the Census of Agriculture and Forestry and the microdata of sample surveys which were sampled from the Census of Agriculture and Forestry population list. In this session, we have carried out five presentations, with the purpose of discussing the various quantitative analysis methods that use the Census of Agriculture and Forestry microdata.