Geographical Analysis of Behavioral Factors in the Formation of Commercial Crop Production Regions

地理学家综合自然因素、社会经济因素和政治因素分析了经济作物产区的形成过程。然而，农业决策主要源于农民的个人属性。这项研究分析了个人和其他地理属性，以确定总体因素。除了对商品作物生产的历史分析外，还阐明了个别农场和农民的变化。研究对象包括富山黑部冲积扇的郁金香球茎生产、柏浦湖沿岸的莲根生产、筑波的蔬菜生产、赤城山区的孔雀生产和奶牛业、茨城京町的西瓜生产、福冈千古河泛滥平原的kaki生产。加拿大的安大略省和新西兰的奥克兰市区也进行了比较，结果清楚地表明，个人因素，如农业商品化和继续农业的意愿，以及地区条件是形成商品作物产区的主要因素。农民的农业意愿取决于农民的年龄、接班人的存在、区域组织、领导者的个性、技术水平以及农业经营的规模和内容。

Formation processes of commercial crop production regions have been analyzed by geographers through combination of physical, socioeconomic, and political factors. Agricultural decision making, however, derives mainly from personal attributes of the farmers. This study analyzed personal as well as other geographic attributes to identify overall factors.In addition to historical analysis of commercial crop production, changes in individual farms and farmers were elucidated. The objects of study include tulip bulb production in the Kurobe alluvial fan in Toyama, lotus root production along the Lake Kasumigaura, vegetable production in Tsukuba, konnyaku production and dairy farming in the Akagi mountain region, water melons of Kyowa-machi, Ibaraki, and kaki production in the Chikugo River floodplain in Fukuoka. Ontario in Canada and Auckland urban area in New Zealand were also examined for comparison.The results clearly demonstrated that personal factors, such as willingness to commercializing agriculture and to continue agriculture, as well as regional conditions consisted major factors for the formation of commercial crop production regions. The willingness for agriculture depended upon the age of the farmers, existence of successors, regional organizations, personality of leaders, levels of techniques, and size and contents of agricultural management.