The Farm Management of Green House Melon Production in Shonai District : The Management and Conditions for Development of Woman Operated Farms

摘要

Horticultural farms that grow melon and other kinds of vegetables in green houses built on paddy fields have recently been increasing. The purpose of this article is to examine how such farms manage their labor for the horticulture production. Major findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1) These horticultural farms are operated mainly by female labor force of the farm households; 2) The scale of production of the farms is so small that the income from the production is not sufficient to support a full-time female worker; 3) This means that the horticultural farms cannot be a viable u22management entityu22, which means in turn about it merely gives a chance for the female labor force to earn subsidiary income; 4) Two factors are responsible for such a situation of the farms. Firstly, an old tradition in Japan such that women in a farm household work for extraordinary low wage has been undermined by the Agricultural Crisis and by the development of labor markets; 5) Secondly, on the one hand, the same underlying factors make it difficult for women in the farm households to take u22farmingu22 as a vocation, and, on the other hand, the tradition called u22ieu22 system, has not been completely resolved yet so as to free the women from the old household bondage.