Paper Title
Implementation of Environmentally Friendly Agriculture Practice and Influence by Relevant Organizations� A Case Study From Shiga Prefecture, Japan

Abstract
In this study, we investigated i) the current situation as regards support initiatives on the part of relevant institutions such as municipal administrative bodies and agricultural extension organizations relating to direct payment schemes for environmentally friendly agriculture and ii) the effect of those support initiatives on the propensity of farmers to participate in the schemes. Results showed that relevant institutions are supporting increased participation by farmers in a wide range of ways, namely technology development, agricultural business guidance, extension and sales, and that this support is a factor that encourages participation by farmers..The findings obtained in our study show that, in order to more effectively expand participation by farmers in agri-environmental schemes, it is necessary to construct policies and institutions in a way that takes account of the actions not only of farmers but of all actors including municipal administrative bodies and agricultural extension organizations, and this is likely to have important implications as regards promotion of agri-environmental policies, including those in developing countries. Keywords� Environmentally Friendly Agriculture, Direct Payment Schemes, Regime-Actor Analysis.