2019.12.10

Visiting organic “NANAIRO Farm” of Community Supported Agriculture in a suburb of Tokyo

  9 students led by Associate Prof. Inoue visited "NANAIRO Farm" located at Chuo-Rinkan Station which is outskirt of Tokyo on November 16, 2019. The farm puts into practice CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), in which farmers and consumers work together financially and physically. By doing this, farmers can share financial risk and work load with consumers, and consumers can ensure transparency of food supply to have safe food. Food mileage can be significantly reduced in this system. This farm is also implementing genuine organic farming without using any pesticide or chemical fertilizer, which requires a large amount of work load. Therefore, labor force of consumers in CSA is the key to keep to realize organic farming. 

 

  Having in mind that modern societies in Japan are seeing loss of local communities, CSA also has potential to nurture local communities or social bond which can address a series of social issues including welfare of disabled ones, elder ones and those socially isolated. 

 

  Students visited the farms, site for composting agricultural waste, livestock manure and residue of food processing, and packaging center. Mr. Kayatanagi rigorously taking students all around farms and explains how they operate. In the evening, he gave presentation about CSA and their farm to articulate how local bottom-up approach can address current disfunction of modern agricultural system in Japan. It was a great opportunity for students to understand issues of sustainability in Japan interpreted by Mr. Katayanagi from his own perspective. Students as well as he and the staff all enjoyed having discussion together.