Alternative Marketing Systems for Organic Agricultural Products in Japan: Accumulating Social Capital to Protect the Ecology

Abstract

     This study was undertaken to observe the marketing of organic agricultural products in Japan using collectively based systems such as the teikei system and sanchoku schemes, and to determine whether such methods differ from the mainstream marketing of normal agricultural products. Data was collected through a review of secondary sources and in-depth interviews with representatives of successful consumers' and farmers' groups involved in the Japanese organic agriculture movement undertaken. The results of the study show that the difference between the alternative marketing systems of the organic agricultural sector in Japan and other traditional marketing schemes is that social capital plays a much more defined role in the alternative system. The marketing systems in use in organic agriculture bypass the middlemen who are common in normal marketing chains. In addition, alternative marketing systems are focused not only on exchanging products but also, perhaps more importantly, on creating an alternative community by establishing a relationship between farmers and consumers who have the same goals of conserving the environment and maintaining their community.