Consideration of Qualitative Changes in Agricultural Settlements Due to Land Consolidation: A Case Study Based on the Perceptions of Non-Farmers

Land consolidation (LC) is implemented as a public project that contributes to the improvement of agricultural productivity, and its effect is evaluated mainly by labour productivity and land productivity. However, to maintain both agricultural production and the social community, understanding the impact on non-farmers in the community as one of the aspects of LC is extremely important. In this study, we surveyed rural areas about eight years after the LC was implemented by posted questionnaire and analysed the difference between farmers' and non-farmers' perceptions of the multifaceted evaluation items on the policy effect. The evaluation points for the LC include the following: [1] Impact on farming and farmland preservation, [2] Impact on community activation, and [3] Impact on collaboration between farmers and non-farmers. Results can be summarized as follows: First, it was confirmed that there is a trend for non-farmers' attachment to the area to be reduced because of LC. Second, non-farmers evaluations that LC attracts young farmers were also low. However, this opinion was much more noticeable in non-farmers who had quit agriculture recently than in the generation that had left agriculture because of LC. In other words, LC is a useful policy for improving agricultural conditions and agricultural structure. However, in some cases, the connections between farmers and non-farmers is weakened. Thus, cooperative activities to actively prevent this weakening are important.