Researcher Database

（Last updated : 2026-07-20 08:51:53）　

AMEKAWA Yuichiro

Department / Course College of International Relations Department of International Relations

Title / Position Professor

Other Affiliations
1.	Graduate School of International Relations

Academic background
1.	～2010/08	Doctoral Program (2nd Semester) │ Agriculture, Food and Environment │ Department of Sociology and Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture │ Iowa State University │ Completed Rural Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture (co-major)
2.	～1999/06	Master Course │ International Development │ International Studies │ University of Oregon │ Completed
3.	～1996/03	Persian Language │ Department of Foreign language │ Osaka University of Foreign Studies │ Graduated

Business career
1.	2017/09/01 ～ 2018/03/31	AssistantProfessor (tenure) │ School of Agriculture │ Kyushu University ,
2.	2014/04/16 ～ 2017/08/31	AssistantProfessor (contract) │ School of Agriculture │ Kyushu University ,
3.	2012/07/01 ～ 2014/04/08	│ Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, │ University of Malaya,
4.	2011/07/01 ～ 2012/06/30	Senior Lecturer │ Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Gender Studies Programme │ University of Malaya,

Research activities
1.		Japanese Society of Regional and Agricultural Development

Qualification and license
1.	2003	TOEFL CBT 287/300
2.	1996	Junior High School and High School English Teaching License

Subject of research
1.	A study on water resource development in Thailand – Focusing on "King of Development" late Rama IX’s initiatives
2.	Is a stepwise differentiation of compliance levels within a single GAP standard necessary? – The case of Thailand’s Q-GAP for vegetable value chains.

Research summary
I have done research on the role of organic farming, integrated farming, agroforestry, and good agricultural practices (GAP), or collectively called ‘sustainable agriculture,’ for farm management and livelihoods of small-scale farmers and environmental protection in Southeast Asia. In future, I would also like to do research on issues related to water resource use in rural Southeast Asia. I would like to pursue the following two studies. The first study is related to public GAP standards in Southeast Asia, especially Q-GAP in Thailand. In the studies on the operation of agricultural food safety standards in developing countries, of which good agricultural practices (GAP) takes a part, the main approach has been based on economic analysis. Meanwhile, there are relatively few analyses that examine the ability and effectiveness of those standards for the original role or function of safety and quality assurance. In substance, however, the subjects for both types of analysis are very closely related. On one hand, having been observed is the phenomenon that socioeconomically peripheral producers in developing countries are excluded from the export value chain for export due to the enforcement of international food safety standards. Observed on the other is the fact that domestic food safety standards set by the government are so low in required compliance levels that many peripheral producers have been certified and hence are participating in the market. These two observations represent two sides of the same problem. The central question to be addressed in this study is, “would not such a ‘twist’ between international and domestic standards, derived from different market characteristics between overseas market and domestic market, be resolved by a measure to deploy multiple certification levels within a single standard rather than gradually increase the standard certification level?” With regard to the methodology of this study, it will be based on a comparison of farms who have been certified of Japanese or Western production management standards (mostly based on GlobalGAP), Q-GAP certified farms, and those who have received no certifications. In practice, with regard to the vegetable value chains of asparagaus and cabbage, the study: (1) elucidates the reality of farmer compliance with Q-GAP standard in their production management through comparing the findings of farm survey and pesticide residue analysis; (2) investigates the perceptions of various market actors about the effectiveness of Q-GAP for different market characteristics; and (3) examines, based on the findings from (1) and (2), the mutual linkages in the overall value chains. In case we can verify the presence of the optimal GAP certification levels between Japanese or Western production management standards and the current Q-GAP certification standard, we would believe this study will contribute to proposing the need for a differentiation or multiplication of certification levels within a single GAP standard. The second study concerns water resource development in Thailand. When late Thai King Rama 9 (Bhumibol Adulyadej) was alive, he devised and promoted a wide range of development projects to improve the livelihoods of rural Thai people suffering from poverty. Hence called the "King of Development, he gathered tremendous popularity and reverence from Thai citizens. On the reverse side of his strong political influence, however, a criticism of the royal family including Rama 9 and others could be criminalized for "lese majesty" and may be subjected to severe punishment. For this reason, development projects promoted by Rama IX have not been paid much attention as an academic research subject, hence the truths remaining in black boxes. In this research, taking hydropower and irrigation development as the central subject of study, I will investigate the historical trend of the development of water resource development in Thailand, the discourses that have been spread to promote development, the actual effectiveness of water use, along with various perceptions of relevant stakeholders involved.

Present specialized field
Design and evaluation of sustainable and environmental conscious system, Area studies, Sociology, Agricultural science in rural society and development (Keyword：Sustainable agriculture, Good agricultural practices, rural development, Thai studies)

Books
1.	2014/02	Sustainable Agriculture in the Developing World: A Sociological Inquiry

Papers
1.	2026/05/26	Economic resilience and pesticide use practices of GAP-certified and non-certified mango farmers in Northern Thailand │ Agriculture │ 16,pp.1-43
2.	2025/06/05	Rubber Plantation Land Grabs and Agrarian Change: A Political Economy Analysis of Livelihood Pathways of Ethnic Minority Groups in Northwest Vietnam │ Land │ 14 (6),pp.1-24
3.	2025/05	Factors influencing low-income households in substituting traditional charcoal with alternative energy sources for cooking in Northwestern and Lusaka Province, Zambia │ Trees, Forests and People │ 20,pp.1-12
4.	2024/10/23	Impact of technology adoption on the economic well-being of rice farmers in Cambodia │ International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development │ 15 (1),pp.85-91
5.	2023/07/05	Can farmers climate change adaptation strategies ensure their food security: Evidence from Ethiopia │ Agrekon │
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Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research -KAKENHI-
1.	2018/04 ～ 2022/03	Is a stepwise differentiation of compliance levels within a single GAP standard necessary? – The case of Thailand’s Q-GAP for vegetable value chains.
2.	2015/04 ～ 2018/03	Is a stepwise differentiation of compliance levels within a single GAP standard necessary? The case of public GAP standards in Southeast Asia

Subject
1.	Advanced Seminar
2.	Advanced Seminar
3.	Development Studies
4.	IR18‐EE222 Global Environmental Issues
5.	IR18‐EE222 Global Environmental Issues
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Message
1.	Introduction to my research Research content: I have done research on the role of organic farming, integrated farming, agroforestry, and certification standard called GAP (good agricultural practices), or collectively called ‘sustainable agriculture,’ for farm management and livelihoods of small-scale farmers and environmental protection in Southeast Asia (especially Thailand). In the future, I would also like to do research on issues related to water resource use in rural Southeast Asia, by crisscrossing the viewpoints of policy makers and ordinary people involved. What is fun in this research: To study the ‘sustainability of agriculture’ is to examine the sustainability of the livelihood of individual farmers you meet in the field and of the local environment surrounding them. You can therefore enjoy the real pleasure of directly linking experiences with knowledge. Meanwhile, agriculture is an anthropogenic act significantly involved with the emission of greenhouse gases. As also seen in the case of afforestation activities as typhoon countermeasures through agroforestry, agriculture relates to global issues such as global warming and climate change. Hence, studying the sustainability of agriculture could be an excellent theme in thinking multidirectionally about our future of ‘sustainable development.’ To those who would like to study at graduate school: Issues of international development and environment are open to broad curiosity and individual issue areas are complicatedly intertwined, hence it is key to be motivated to try to grasp a society in whole. Please consciously pursue an interdisciplinary approach that is rid of a ‘specialty mindedness.’