紀要論文

Agri-environmental Policies of Japan and Shiga Prefecture

eng

09111247

https://doi.org/10.15002/00010723

Journal of International Economic Studies

29

23

34

2015-03

Version of Record

This paper gives an account of the development of agri-environmental policy conducted by the national government of Japan and Shiga Prefecture. Although the national government used the term “environmentallyfriendly agriculture” as early as the 1990s, it is after the enactment of the Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas Basic Act that concrete agri-environmental policies were put forth in Japan. Shiga Prefecture introduced the Agri-environmental Direct Payment Scheme in 2004, under which grants were paid to farmers who engage in environmentally-friendly farming practices. This scheme served as a precedent for the national agri-environmental payment program, which started in 2007. Changes in the national program in 2011 made requirements more stringent, which lead to fewer participating farmers. Comparing each payment scheme from the viewpoint of rationale for the payment rate, Shiga’s scheme is transparent: the rate is set to the additional cost for halving chemical inputs. On the other hand, the reference level (the base line which farmers are to attain by meeting their own costs) is ambiguous in the former national program, and the level in the current national program is difficult to understand.

Article

AA10459262