Strategies to Induce Cooperation from Farmers in an Organic Food Supply Chain: the Case of Bio Market, Inc., Japan

Summary

Organic food supply chains often face a challenge to receive stronger commitment from farmers necessary to access the mainstream food market. This study measured the farmers’ effort level was by using a proxy indicator, and sought factors that affect the level, based on the data obtained from an organic food supply chain in Japan. Four factors were found: (1) the farmers’ self-evaluation on their effort level, (2) satisfaction with the terms of contract, (the farmers’ self-evaluation on their product quality, and (4) the farmers’ dependence on the chain as a source of income; are related to the effort level realized by an individual farmer. Based on the result, the study has concluded that the measures that lower the self-evaluation of farmers’ performance can make the farmers more cooperative with the aims of the chain.