WCHR Home WCHR 1 WCHR 2 WCHR 3 WCHR 4 WCHR 5 Search
Y. Satoh
Tohoku National Agricultural Experiment
Station, Morioka, Iwate 020-0123, Japan
<
Station, Morioka, Iwate 020-0123, Japan
In Japan, during the last 30 years, most men in families of rice growers have engaged in stable jobs of other industries, while working part-time at home with machinery related tasks. Most women in the families have worked in the fields and done ordinary housework, but some women also have had other jobs. Traditionally, these families have recognized agricultural production as inevitable work for the families. In these circumstances, women have played important roles not only in housekeeping but also field work. Japanese rice consumption has continued to decrease gradually. Therefore, the converted acreage of paddy fields increased by approximately 30%. The government encouraged growers to produce vegetables in paddy fields to maintain their incomes. However, these women stalled the conversion policies.
I surveyed opinions of 1,062 women belonging to growers' families in northern Japan in 1993, where 86% of women were engaged in other jobs besides growing on part-time basis. Seventy-nine percent of the women worked over six hours a day in fields during the cropping season, and more hours for housekeeping and in other jobs. However, men in the families tended to decide most of the farming plans, except decisions about vegetable production where women had a greater influence. Seventy-nine percent of the women did not regard farming as their own occuf the women did not regard farming as their own occupations. Should conversion from rice to mixed vegetable cropping take place, women will suffer more working hours. These results show that women stalled the conversion so as to prevent an increased workload under an already overworked situation.
The women expected the following improvements to
be made in the future, establishment of a cooperative production
and harvesting system, and development of various marketing channels.
The results suggest some successful measures in conversion from
rice to mixed vegetable cropping.
Key words: Conversion
policy, discontent to farming, non-agricultural jobs, occupation,
overwork, rice-based farming, vegetable production, women
In Japan, typical growers' families possess small fields less than one hectare. Most of them primarily produced rice. Income generated from rice farming was more stable and profits were good, before the late 1960's. They mechanized rice production for reducing the hard field work. This tendency led them into inevitable situations of investing money in machines. In the 1970's, the government recommended growers to convert rice to other crops because rice production exceeded consumption. The conversion decreased the rice incomes. Figure 1 shows the changes in ratios of agricultural income to household expenditures of families, by three categories: rice bsehold expenditures of families, by three categories: rice based, indoor vegetables-based and outdoor vegetables-based farming, respectively. Out of these different types of farming, rice-based and outdoor vegetables-based farming decreased from 1966 to 1980, especially in the former case. After 1980, the ratio of rice-based farming decreased to below 15%. The reduction forced them to engage in other outside jobs.
The growers' families getting money in other jobs are divided into two types. One type is those who getting more money in farming than in other jobs(Type 1), while the other is contrary(Type 2). As shown in Figure 2, ratios of Type 2 in total growers' families increased gradually. Most men in rice growers' families have engaged in stable jobs of other industries. The work in their field was limited primarily to machinery labors: tillage, transplanting and harvesting. Most women in the families also engaged in other jobs. However, they did the manual labor in the field and did housekeeping additionally. In these circumstances, women have played important roles not only for housekeeping but also field work.
Japanese rice consumption has been decreasing during
the last 30 years due to the westernizing of their eating habits.
According to the statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF), 123 kg of annual consumption per
capita in 1965 decreased to 75 kg in 1995. Additionally, the rice
importing policy s 1995. Additionally, the rice
importing policy started in 1994. To balance between production
and consumption, the government strengthened the conversion policy.
This policy encouraged growers to use around 30% of the total
paddy field for vegetables to maintain their farm income. The
government expects women involved in rice-based farming, to engage
in the production of vegetables according to the political recommendation.
These related policies aim to prevent out flow of women to the
other job opportunities. However, these women do not accept the
conversion policies easily. In this paper, it is attempted to
point out some major reasons for the refusal of the policies,
given by rural women in Japan.
In 1993, questionnaires were sent to 1,062 women in growers' families in Inakawa-machi, Akita, located in northern Japan. The population in this town was 11,760, comprising 6,083 women as of 1990. Over half (57%) of the population was represented by growers' families. Fifty-one percent of gross agricultural output in this town was shared by rice production. Ratios of over 65 years old were 18% of total residents, and 34% of growers those who worked mainly in farming. Women's respondents, aged 20 to 64, were investigated about their working conditions and opinions. Eighty-six percent of the women were engaged in other jobs. Most of them were living with their husbands' parents engaging in ere living with their husbands' parents engaging in farming.
They were asked with the following questions: 1)
How many hours do they work in the fields during the cropping
season? 2) How do they spend Sunday and holidays? 3) Can they
relax in their daily lives? 4) Are they bound by family traditions
and farming? 5) Who decide the farming plans in their families?
6) Do they recognize farming as their own occupation or not? 7)
Do they feel that women should have their own bank accounts to
store their farm income? 8) Are they discontented with farming
or not, and if so, what is the reason? The questions were answered
with regard to their past and present situation. Finally, they
were asked to note what kind of improvement would be necessary
to continue agricultural production in the future.
Women, particularly those with jobs in other industries were too busy. Seventy-nine percent of women worked over six hours a day in the field during the cropping season, and spent additional hours for housekeeping and non-agriculture jobs. Even on Sunday and public holidays, 69% of them worked for farming and housekeeping (Figure 3). Because there was so much work, most of them could not have rest, communication with friends and hobbies. Engaging in other jobs with such busy lives distressed women. Seventy-two percent of women engaged in other jobs san. Seventy-two percent of women engaged in other jobs said that they were too busy to relax in their daily lives, and 69% of them said that family tradition and farming restricted their relaxation. Women engaged only in farming agreed.
Most women were not involved with the farming decisions, in spite of their high labor contributions. Their husbands or the other men in the families decided most of the farming plans, except vegetable production. In each item of the farming plans, as shown in Table 1, men made more than 80% of decisions. Most women could not manage crop cultivation, especially in rice farming, as they might wish. Seventy-nine percent of women regarded their farming as inevitable works for their families. Even 69% of women engaged only in farming did not regard it as their own occupations (Table 2). However, growers' families had recognized agricultural production as inevitable works, and fields as inheritable properties for them. Even if they get major incomes from non-agricultural jobs, they cannot easily stop producing rice due to the traditional customs. Under such situations, women admitted being sacrificing themselves for families.
The government supports women having personal accounts and encourages them in agricultural production. However, 78% of women did not expect to have accounts. Most of the women engaged in farming find it hard to get personal income; ninety-one percent refused personal incomes that would-one percent refused personal incomes that would enable to farm in the future. Sixty-six percent of women were discontented with the small amount of incomes from agriculture (Table 3).
Forty-five percent of women wanted to establish a
cooperative production and harvesting system to lighten their
workload: mutual helping groups for growing and/or harvesting(Table
4). They also wanted to develop various marketing channels: face
to-face trading and/or local trading.
The main purpose of the conversion policies is to maintain farm incomes by introducing vegetables into rice farming. However, growers find it hard to get a large and stable income from vegetable production. Women are afraid they will be burdened with a greater workload if they adopt the policy to mix rice with vegetable cropping without men's help. The situation will be more severe for women engaging in non-agricultural jobs. An income generated from vegetable production is not always higher than that from other jobs. These situations prevent them from introducing vegetables into rice farming.
From a viewpoint of vegetable production, the women's
situation mentioned above is disregarded in the policies. Social
support for their farming is necessary for achieving the betterment
of their situation and evoking their will to the conversion. Women
also feel that they need to reorganize a cooperative production
eel that they need to reorganize a cooperative production
and harvesting system to lighten their workload. The results suggest
that some successful measures to conversion from rice to mixed
vegetable cropping.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1998. Food Balance Sheet: 92-93.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1994, Farm Household Economy.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995, Census of Agriculture
Report.