Issues and Possibilities of a New Scheme for Rice Production Control A Case Study of Niigata Prefecture

This study shows a basic proposal of an alternative scheme of rice production control as an ‘environment-conscious' set-aside program. The scheme is designed to consist of a regular set-aside program to produce crops other than rice as well as an environmental program of extensive rice farming practice to reduce rice yield by half with few chemical applications as a cross compliance. It will be able to ensure full usage of paddy lands for agricultural production and increase multifunctional benefits from biodiversity and landscape conservation. Whether it is actually possible to implement the new scheme is likely to depend upon field conditions and the existence of local leading farmers. The plan of the set-aside program should take into consideration both mechanical and biological conditions of local fields. Mechanical conditions such as plot formation and accessibility of field passage are significant to encourage large scale farming of both rice and the other crops efficiently. Ground water level for drainage is an important biological condition that determines the performance of raising other crops. Small farm managements under the worse biological condition of paddy fields might be likely to adopt an environmental program with direct payments. The study constructs its own analytical database of field conditions and rice farming on a local field basis, examines an appropriate grant level to stimulate program participation, and calculates a quantitative result of expected set-aside allocation. A joint application of new extensive farming and regular set-aside programs could effectively accomplish a national rice control plan without entailing wasteland.