11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
[HTT15-07] Elucidation of System Mechanisms and Regional Characteristics Stimulating “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” in Japan.
Keywords:Care farm, People with disabilities, Region analysis, Regional revitalization
Introduction
Globally, 15% of the population and 9.2% in Japan are disabled. This study focuses on “Care Farming” and “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” as a means of fostering social participation of people with disabilities. Practice of “The combination of agriculture and care” have the willingness to engage individuals with disabilities as part of the workforce has grown in Japan, so the power of welfare, including the restoration of mental and physical health through agriculture, has been overlooked. Practice of “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” current in Japan needs to be transformed into a new form to promote the mental and physical health and social participation of not only the disabled but also the elderly, people released from prison, and other socially vulnerable groups, while maintaining the objectives of securing manpower for farming and eliminating abandoned farmland.
Objectives
Therefore, this study aims to clarify the actual situation and challenges of care farms and “The combination of agriculture and care” in Japan and elucidate the system mechanisms and regional spatial characteristics of care farms that stimulate “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” by cases.
Methods
In this study, firstly, Cases of care farms were surveyed by divided Japan into nine regions, and two to three care farms in each region that are involved in The Combination of Agriculture and Care.” The survey revealed the actual circumstances and issues of care farms, system mechanisms, etc. Then, geographical data of care farms such as the addresses of each case, data on devastated farmland and underpopulated areas in Japan, are collected to clarify the regional distribution and characteristics of care farms in Japan in the study. The number and addresses of care farms were ascertained and an Excel list of care farms was created by specifying the degree of history of care farms based on the data. Then, we superimposed the data on underpopulated areas and degraded farmland using ArcGIS software and clarified the regional distribution of care farms and regional location trends.
Results
Field surveys were conducted, and typologies were developed for cases of care farms across the Japan. The system mechanisms of the care farms revealed the advantages and disadvantages of the centralized and decentralized forms of care farms. It was found that each type of care farms has its own characteristics and influences the way people with disabilities work and develop their initiatives. The progress of the agricultural and welfare partnerships on care farms varied from region to region, and there were differences even among the best examples of agricultural and welfare partnerships. The results also reveal the distribution and location trends of care farms in Japan through the integration of ArcGIS data. There are approximately 160 care farms registered in the combination of agriculture and care casebooks of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan. The regional relationship between devastated farmland and care farms in the current situation, where the number of devastated farmlands is increasing owing to the shortage of labor in agriculture and the aging of farm workers. Kinki (33 farms) and Hokkaido (32 farms), regions with many care farms, have low levels of devastated farmland rates of 9.5% and 0.2%, respectively, below the national average. However, the number of care farms is relatively low in the Chugoku/Shikoku region, Kyushu, and Okinawa, which are regions with a high rate of farmland disrepair. It was clarified that care farms are generally distributed in areas with less devastated farmland, that is, in areas with abundant agricultural resources.
Globally, 15% of the population and 9.2% in Japan are disabled. This study focuses on “Care Farming” and “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” as a means of fostering social participation of people with disabilities. Practice of “The combination of agriculture and care” have the willingness to engage individuals with disabilities as part of the workforce has grown in Japan, so the power of welfare, including the restoration of mental and physical health through agriculture, has been overlooked. Practice of “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” current in Japan needs to be transformed into a new form to promote the mental and physical health and social participation of not only the disabled but also the elderly, people released from prison, and other socially vulnerable groups, while maintaining the objectives of securing manpower for farming and eliminating abandoned farmland.
Objectives
Therefore, this study aims to clarify the actual situation and challenges of care farms and “The combination of agriculture and care” in Japan and elucidate the system mechanisms and regional spatial characteristics of care farms that stimulate “The Combination of Agriculture and Care” by cases.
Methods
In this study, firstly, Cases of care farms were surveyed by divided Japan into nine regions, and two to three care farms in each region that are involved in The Combination of Agriculture and Care.” The survey revealed the actual circumstances and issues of care farms, system mechanisms, etc. Then, geographical data of care farms such as the addresses of each case, data on devastated farmland and underpopulated areas in Japan, are collected to clarify the regional distribution and characteristics of care farms in Japan in the study. The number and addresses of care farms were ascertained and an Excel list of care farms was created by specifying the degree of history of care farms based on the data. Then, we superimposed the data on underpopulated areas and degraded farmland using ArcGIS software and clarified the regional distribution of care farms and regional location trends.
Results
Field surveys were conducted, and typologies were developed for cases of care farms across the Japan. The system mechanisms of the care farms revealed the advantages and disadvantages of the centralized and decentralized forms of care farms. It was found that each type of care farms has its own characteristics and influences the way people with disabilities work and develop their initiatives. The progress of the agricultural and welfare partnerships on care farms varied from region to region, and there were differences even among the best examples of agricultural and welfare partnerships. The results also reveal the distribution and location trends of care farms in Japan through the integration of ArcGIS data. There are approximately 160 care farms registered in the combination of agriculture and care casebooks of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan. The regional relationship between devastated farmland and care farms in the current situation, where the number of devastated farmlands is increasing owing to the shortage of labor in agriculture and the aging of farm workers. Kinki (33 farms) and Hokkaido (32 farms), regions with many care farms, have low levels of devastated farmland rates of 9.5% and 0.2%, respectively, below the national average. However, the number of care farms is relatively low in the Chugoku/Shikoku region, Kyushu, and Okinawa, which are regions with a high rate of farmland disrepair. It was clarified that care farms are generally distributed in areas with less devastated farmland, that is, in areas with abundant agricultural resources.