Exploring the partnership between the agriculture and social welfare sectors

Abstract

Exploring the partnership between the agriculture and social welfare sectors The intrinsic value of the partnership between agriculture and social welfare sectors can help us to enrich the way that we work, and how we think about work. As an equivalent to what is called “social farming” or “care farming” in the West, the term “partnership between agriculture and social welfare” has now entered the regular Japanese vocabulary. The advocates emphasize its advantage of linking the shorthanded agricultural sector with the people excluded from the existing labor market by offering job opportunities to them. The article in the preceding issue illustrated that the intrinsic value of the partnership between agriculture and social welfare is not limited to such an advantage, mentioning my own initiative targeted at homeless laborers and young trainees receiving employment support. However, I also faced several challenges, which may be inevitable when urban dwellers without rural background attempt farm work.