The Development and Sustainability of the Vegetable Production Region in Yachiyo Town, Ibaraki Prefecture

Abstract

This paper analyzes how the vegetable production region in Yachiyo Town has developed, clarifies the basis on which it is sustained and discusses the sustainability of rental fallow land use. The settlement of Osaki, which specializes in vegetable production, is selected as the study area in Yachiyo Town.Until about 1960, the main form of agriculture in Yachiyo Town was wheat and barley. A method of cultivation for water melons and Chinese cabbages was introduced by a regional leader in the early 1950s. The introduction of this method of cultivation is related to changes in the economic environment-for example, the importation of wheat after World War 2. The vegetable production region in Yachiyo Town is categorized in two stages based on the type of selling: The first stage in which the requirements of farm groups is sought, and the second stage in which the marketing of the individual farm is sought. The market, which is organized privately in the surrounding area, was established in the early 1960s. Most of the Chinese cabbages are shipped to the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions through these markets. As a result, Yachiyo Town is devoted to growing Chinese cabbage and occupied the first rank in Japan in the late 1960s.However, its productivity declined due to the repeated mono-cultivation of melons and Chinese cabbages. Vegetable production in vinyl plastic hothouses was introduced in the early 1970s, but this was not developed into the dominant agricultural form. The farmhouse has managed a large amount of rental fallow farmland both within and outside the area of the town. Internal factors, including social relationships between landlord and tenant farmer have influenced the farmer's decision-making with implications for the development and sustainability of the vegetable production region.