八女電照ギク

In the present paper, the authors wished to make clear the mechanism of the formation and development process of a highly specialized area in the illuminated-chrysanthemum at Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture. At this district, a successful formation and development of a specialized illuminated-chrysanthemum producing area seemed to have been brought about through efforts by farmers themselves. In the present study, the author classified the development process of the area studied into three different periods, i.e., introducing period, growing period, and readjusting period, based upon the viewpoints of the form of producers organization, level of technique, structure of farm management, and marketing system. The characteristics of each of these three periods would be able to be summarized as follows. (1) introducing Period: Only a few skilled farmers or upper class farmers had introduced the crop and the type of producers organization was closed type constituted by only a few members. The technique was so uncertain that only skillful farmers could adopt it. The crop was but one of various minor ones in the area and it had its position in various types of diversified farming. The producers shipped their products to the local markets by themselves during the introducing period. (2) Growing Period: Almost all classes of farmers became the producers of the crop, and accordingly producers organization developed in its size and in its function. Standard patterns of production techniques including the use of new equipment and machinery had been established and diffused to all producers within the area. The crop became a major commercial one and types of farming gradually changed to less diversified ones on many farms. Marketing of the products were practiced on a group basis. The producers organization played more important role. In sum, farmers could enjoy the economies of scale accompanied with an accumulation and specialization of a same crop within a same locality. (3) Readjusting Period: As the technology developed and the production size increased, the number of producers decreased somewhat in this period. The production of the crop had concentrated on upper class farms. The function of producers organization tended to be divided into two directions, production and marketing. The level of technique was still hightened and much more capital was needed to be ranked among the competitive producers. Completely planned marketing was practiced on group basis in this period, however, a quick readjustment in the marketing operation was still needed to meet the demands of the markets.