Essay on the Regional Structure of the Interior of Citrus Producing Districts

Abstract

Below is the author's explanation of the regional structure of the districts that produce agricultural products according to the location theory of agricultural production.Since the economic rent to produce product B for a territory which is some distance away from a city and which is defined by geographic points X1 and X2 is higher than for the production of other products, this territory must be the best place for the production of product B (Fig. 3). This is the producing district of agricultural product B. In reality, not only agricultural product B, but also product A or product C is produced in this region. According to the agricultural managements of this territory, the amount of product B is the highest in the place designated as Xb, which is located between X1 and X2. Since the proceeds from product B in Xb is highest, it is seldom subrogated for other products. The author called Xb as the core of the producing district. As one moves away from Xb toward X1 or X2, the degree of occurence of product B with product A or C increases. The author designated this as the circumference part of the producing district of product B.There are different types of producer communities and system for sales in the interior of the citrus producing district if the district is considerably vast. Almost all of the farmers in the core of the citrus producing district plant Satsuma orange since it brings in much profits. Since the farmers have only a small capital, they strengthen the organization of the Agricultural Cooperative Association. They sell their products through this organization. As much as possible the Agricultural Cooperative Association sends their products to markets in large cities such as Tokyo. Sale through the Agricultural Cooperative Association is remarkable in the core of the producing district but becomes less marked as one moves away from it in the circumference of the producing district. The number of farmers who plant citrus in the latter are few and careful consideration must be paid to products other than citrus. Merchants who live in the towns near the circumference part of the producing district buy and collect the products. Unlike the Agricultural Cooperative Association these merchants do not send the products to markets located in large cities. They tend to send them to farther markets such as Hokkaido.In Japan, fruit trees are ordinarily planted in mountain slopes or hills (Fig. 5, 7). The roads for agricultural use in the core of the citrus producing district are paved and freight trucks often pass (Fig. 5). Old-moded means of transport as overhead freight-carrying cables are decreasing. The farmers prevent their orchards cooperatively from the damages by blight and noxious insects. Pipes through which agricultural medicines pass to every field ramify like wire mesh on the mountain slopes (Fig. 4). In comparison with the communal productive efforts in the core of the producing district, those in the circumference part are individual. Roads for agricultural use in the latter are narrow and unpaved. Transportation depends upon individually-owned overhead freight-carrying cables (Fig. 6). There are some farmers who do not own such cables.