農家の農地評価体系と農地の地域的保全

Abstract

Diversions of farmland for some other uses in urban fringes and devastations of farmland in distant rural areas, for both of which the comparatively low profitability of farming is responsible, are on increasing in alarming way in Japan. These situations are very important problems from the viewpoint of the external effects of farmland. The farmlands in a area provide for the inhabitants in the area the following external effects; (1) employment opportunities for women and aged persons who have no better ones than farming, (2) supplies of fresh and safe agricultural food for local inhabitants, (3) provision of pleasure, recreation and sport opportunities for local inhabitants, (4) preservation of rural cultures, (5) formation of educational environment, (6) conservation of natural environment, (7) formation of residential environment. The farmlands have these external effects when they are used for farming. The extent of diversions and devastations of farmland in a area depend on the intentions of farmers in the area. The farmers' intentions depend on the profitability of farmland estimated by them, that is the subjectively estimated profitability of farmland. The objectives of the paper are as follows; (1) to analyze the system of farmer's subjective estimation of the profitability of farmland, (2) to analyze policies toward presrevation of a certain expected area of farmland in the area. There is a certain degree of difference between the subjectively estimated profitability of a farmland and the realized one. The farmland has external effects when this difference is borne by the society.