The Location of Onion Producing Areas in the Kitami District, Hokkaido

Abstract

In Japan onion production ranks fourth among the cultivated vegetable areas, and onions rank sixth in per capita consumption of vegetables as measured in kilograms. The onion occupies the first place among vegetables which are transported from the rural districts to the urban consumers. The author has been studying the geography of truck farming, above all its locational approach, so he began to investigate the onion producing regions in Hokkaido.As the onion likes a cool season, it is usually grown during the winter and spring seasons on Japanese farms. Hokkaido farmers, however, cultivate the onion during the cool summer and harvest in the autumn. There are two main producing areas in Hokkaido: one is Ishikari Plain and the other is the Kitami district. Kitami especially has developed recently in a remarkable way so that Hokkaido as a whole has the highest onion yield in Japan.In the Kitami district the temperature and the length of day which have an important bearing on onion bulb formation are highly favorable. The alluvial floodplain in Kitami Basin furnishes a fertile soil of sandy loam ideal for onion cultivation. An important social factor which has contributed to the increased production of onions in the Kitami district is that Kitami City has an abundant labor supply (especially women) cheaper than in the rival Ishikari Plain. In spite of these fundamental conditions, the development of onion cultivation in Kitami was delayed by insect damage and a poor marketing route. Yearly damage from the onion maggot hindered production after World War II until the life ecology of the worm was discovered and methods of extermination were determined in the 1960's. The Kitami district is a long way from the urban consumer market. Moreover, there was for a long time no marketing organization. When in 1965 the agricultural cooperatives began to manage onion sales, the Kitami farmers finally found an eager market for their crop.Two reasons have stimulated onion cultivation. First a change in eating habits in the 1960's caused a demand for onions and raised the price. Second when in 1970 rice production was restricted by the government, the Kitami farmers chose to plant onions as a substitute crop.As the onions stored until the supply is scarce are generally sold at a higher price than the freshly harvested crop, the agricultural cooperatives in the Kitami district have constructed many large onion storehouses since 1972. Kitami farmers who got good profits from onion production increased their onion fields in the following years.It is the usual practice in Japan that onions are transplanted to the field after seedling culture. Though the farmers in Hokkaido use machines to transplant the onions, much hand labor is required. As machine and labor costs are higher in Hokkaido than in other parts of Japan the producers try to increase gross income by increased acreage. The average onion fleld in Hokkaido is 2.7ha in area, while in the rest of Japan the average area is only 0.5ha. The farmer engaged in small scale production outside of Hokkaido makes a small investment and utilizes family labor and thus he makes his profits. In Hokkaido, including Kitami, the higher price of autumn harvested onions overcomes the higher costs of machinery and labor.In conclusion it seems that the new expansion of the Kitami onion fields is an example of intensive agriculture in a remote region caused increased demand.