Labor Input Allocation for Farmland Conservation in the Hilly and Mountainous Areas

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate labor requirements for farmland conservation in the hilly and mountainous areas, where aging and depopulation are serious problems. A Random Coefficients Regression (RCR) model with Agricultural Settlements Cards of the Agricultural Census in 2000 is applied to five municipalities in mountainous parts of Hiroshima Prefecture. Each dataset for the model consists of about 100 to 400 agricultural settlement units mainly cropped with rice. Explanatory variables are planted areas of rice paddy categorized into three levels of consolidation condition, beans, vegetables, miscellaneous, and uncropped farmland. The dependent variable is person-days of work on agriculture in each unit. The estimation result supports an observation that farmers are inputting considerable amount of labor although other sampled farm-based statistics, the Statistical Survey on Farm Management and Economy for example, reports further less labor input requirement. Small and unconsolidated rice paddy fields require about 30 to 40 percent more labor input than consolidated ones to be cultivated. Farmers input considerable level of labor even on uncropped farmland. Conversion in monetary value of the labor inputs indicates that current direct payment schemes are not necessarily enough to cover the efficiency gap between small and large field plots. Without direct payments, agricultural income is not sufficient to cover the labor input by farm household members on consolidated rice paddy, and neither to pay out rents both for owned and tenant farmland.