Opportunities of Participatory Research and Extension for Organic Farming Systems in Japan.

Farmers have been conducting organic farming for several decades in Japan, but research and extension for organic farming by public sector began only several years ago. Given that experienced organic farmers have much more know-how than researchers and extension workers, bottom-up approaches in cooperation with organic farmers rather than top-down procedures may be appropreate for research and extension of organic farming. In this context, the investigation of organic farming practices by experienced organic farmers is important. I investigated organic farming practices by experienced organic farmers, and found organic farming consists of two principles: growing healthy plants and animals and construction of sound agroenvironments. Examples of good organic farming practices by experienced organic farmers and the methodology for research and extension of organic farming will be presented.