Analysis of the Environment that Promotes the Activation of the Revitalization Activities by Agricultural Students in Disaster Areas

• Published in: Journal of Resilience Agriculture and Sciences Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 35 - 46
• Main Author: OYA, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Society of Resilience Agriculture 31.01.2024
• Subjects: Agricultural Revitalization Activities; Altruistic Motivation; Egoistic Motivation; Sustainable Revitalization Activities
• ISSN: 2758-1160
• DOI: 10.57341/jras.4.1_35

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Namie Town have been conducting agricultural revitalization activities based on the partnership agreement signed in 2018 fy. Year after year, revitalization activities have been accelerated. For example, students of Tokyo University of Agriculture have repeatedly visited Namie Town to assist with farm work. Their interaction with local farmers has been a key part of advancing the sixth industrialization of agricultural products in Namie Town. This study was conducted to identify the environmental factors that encourage students’ participation in revitalization activities. The study incorporated the author’s experience in revitalization assistance in Namie Town and a questionnaire survey targeting students from Tokyo University of Agriculture who actively participated in the program. As a result, it became clear that both altruistic and egoistic motivations work in revitalization activities. For effectiveness, it’s important to establish approaches that: (1) contribute to students’ growth, (2) offer a variety of activities for students to choose from, (3) enable students to engage consistently in a sequence of farming tasks, (4) respect students’ autonomy, (5) provide opportunities for students to showcase their diverse skills, (6) facilitate collaborative efforts between elderly people and students, ranging from farming to sales, and (7) disseminate information about these activities. In addition, it is considered necessary to set up sustainable activities so that both students and the farmers in the disaster areas can reward each other through these activities.