著者

川久保 篤志

出版者

一般社団法人 人文地理学会

雑誌

人文地理 (ISSN:00187216)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.66, no.3, pp.209-230, 2014 (Released:2018-01-27)

参考文献数

36

被引用文献数

1 1

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In the recent course of economic globalization, the TPP negotiations have almost concluded. Japan is facing tax issues with its major agricultural produce. If tariffs are abolished, import quantities are expected to increase substantially, especially of rice, wheat, meat, dairy products, and sugar. There are growing concerns over the unsustainability of producing areas and impoverishment of rural communities.Taking into account this situation, this paper focuses on beef, analyzing the current existing structure of beef cattle producing areas, and projecting measures for such areas going forwards. Two dairy-beef cattle producing areas in Hokkaido (Shihoro town and Ashoro town) were employed as case studies, and the following was found:First, in Shihoro Town, in the 1970s the local Agricultural Cooperatives set up 18 beef cattle centers with over 1000 head of cattle each, which contributed to the growth of cattle farming. Characteristics of the beef cattle centers include: 1. They receive large loans from the local Agricultural Cooperatives, so that they can build a robust basis for management; 2. There is a high dependency on employed labor; 3. Since the cropped segment is small, animal feed is almost completely procured from outside; and 4. In the farming operation, the focus is placed on the efficiency of raising cattle rather than improving the quality of beef. In other words, cattle farming in Shihoro Town survived amid international competition through large-scale low-cost management.Meanwhile, in Ashoro Town production did not sufficiently expand, and since the liberalization of beef imports (1991), producing areas started to decline as the profitability was down remarkably. However, from 2000 on, after the signing of a breeding-and-sales contract with Chikuren Agricultural Cooperatives, which is committed to producing safe and trustworthy beef, management became stabilized as the decline was arrested. The contract does not allow farmers to have ownership of cattle, nor allow discretion over feed selection or the number of growing days; however, a sufficient amount of feeding and management commissions is paid after shipping. Therefore farming business significantly improved and farmers’ evaluation of this beef production system is very high.However, both areas have a large number of fiscal years showing losses, and most farmers cannot continue to run their businesses without a government system making up for losses by using funds from tariffs on imported beef. Depressed prices for dairy-beef since import liberalization have prevented farmers from maintaining their independent beef cattle businesses, and created a structure where such farmers cannot avoid being dependent on the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives and other governmental funds.Therefore, reduced tariffs will have a serious influence on dairy beef cattle production areas in Japan, so the areas must prepare for that situation. It is important to improve information disclosure on aspects such as the advantages of Japanese domestic produce which imported products do not have, such as taste and safety, as well as traceability. It is also important to communicate such information to consumers through direct sales at retailers. However, differentiation through such means is not perfect, and it is necessary to continue making efforts to reduce costs to close the gap in price between imported beef and domestic products.