What the welfare‐agriculture cooperation can inherit from the farmer‐consumer partnership movement for exchanges of organic produce: on‐site implementation and international sharing of its outcome

Abstract

The challenges of modern society, combined with global crises, are impacting countries across the globe, with many people experiencing financial difficulties of varying severity. Dr Hiroyuki Tsunashima, Urban Resilience Research Center, Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan, has been leading a project that may contribute to alleviating this situation by linking the lack of workers in agriculture with social welfare. The idea is that the agricultural sector, which is in need of workers, can offer job opportunities to those excluded from the existing labour market. The Japanese Government is now also looking to enhance the agriculture-welfare partnership. The target population is those with different types of social disadvantages, while the practitioners are farmers or social welfare organisations seeking to offer opportunities to vulnerable people. These clients can then work on farms under the supervision of staff members from social welfare organisations. Tsunashima places emphasis on holistic practices, encouraging his participants to enjoy the growth of the crops they are tending to. This comprises a process of autonomous skill acquisition in relation to farm work, according to the model which Tsunashima and the team developed. Drawing from a movement called Teikei, a system of community-supported agriculture in Japan, the process will be facilitated through the medium of food, if a description of the experiences of farmer-consumer partnerships provides participants with a clearer understanding about the consumer demands.