Formation Factors and Effects on Common Property Resource Conservation of Community Farms

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been a global debate over who should manage common property resources (CPRs) related to agriculture. Because rational and efficient farmers only work farmland with good conditions or leave for other industries, in areas where production conditions are poor, local resources that were once collectively maintained are no longer managed. The Japanese government has positioned community farms (CFs) as an important player in local agriculture and has been striving to develop them. This study clarifies whether the formation and development of these CFs are functioning effectively for the conservation of local resources. Specifically, we use the propensity score matching method to measure the average treatment effect of CF formation and development on CPR conservation activities and the prevention of cultivation abandonment. In particular, this study tests the hypothesis that farmers are reluctant to develop CFs extensively because their effects on CPR conservation are uncertain. The results show that at the early stage, the formation of CFs has a significantly positive effect on the promotion of CPR conservation, but its wide-area development is counterproductive to CPR management, suggesting that resourceful support is needed according to local conditions.

Circular economy-based reverse logistics: dynamic interplay between sustainable resource commitment and financial performance

“…The contribution to resource management can be split into multiple clusters. The first cluster consists of knowledge-based resources, whilst the second cluster consists of property-based resources (Kitano, 2020). Knowledge in inventory information (Fernando et al.…”

“…The contribution to resource management can be split into multiple clusters. The first cluster consists of knowledge-based resources, whilst the second cluster consists of propertybased resources (Kitano, 2020). Knowledge in inventory information (Fernando et al, 2020), technology and expert human intelligence on resource utilisation are vital inputs for organisational change (Mousa and Othman, 2020).…”

Estimation of Determinants of Farmland Abandonment and Its Data Problems

“…Many studies have used agricultural community-based data from Japanese censuses [44]. For more details on such data, please refer to previous studies [7,[45][46][47]. Among these data, seven determinants shown in Table 1 that were likely to influence AFR were used for the analyses.…”

Pathways influencing bearers and abandoned farmlands through farmland intermediate management institutions: using prefectural data in Japan

“…However, it is essential to use farmland sustainably. Kitano ( 2020 ) and Shoyama et al ( 2021 ) elucidated that collective action to manage farmland and government policy support have been effective in restraining the increase of abandoned land area. Kitano ( 2020 ) applied the propensity score matching method to analyze the form of community-based farming in Japan.…”

“…Kitano ( 2020 ) and Shoyama et al ( 2021 ) elucidated that collective action to manage farmland and government policy support have been effective in restraining the increase of abandoned land area. Kitano ( 2020 ) applied the propensity score matching method to analyze the form of community-based farming in Japan. The study concludes that community-based farming has a significant positive effect on common property resource conservation, but there is an opposite effect beyond a certain scale of management.…”