There is a growing recognition of the problems associated with industrial agriculture and the imperative to support alternative agriculture. However, alternative agricultural initiatives often encounter challenges when goals diverge from those of the markets, states, and bureaucracies in which they operate.
In a new JAFSCD article, “Successes and challenges of a university-based agroecological community garden and educational program in Japan,” Benjamin Schrager (corresponding author), Hiroki Ikeda, and Takahashi Yukitsugu examine the successes and challenges of Utsunomiya University’s Eco-programs, a unique alternative agricultural initiative that combines a pesticide-free and synthetic fertilizer–free community garden with an educational lecture and activity series. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, they analyze the Japanese context in which this program operates and conflicts that emerge because differing goals are associated with the program.
KEY FINDINGS: - The Eco-programs foster opportunities for participants to encounter agroecological farming.
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After the charismatic leader who established the program retired, conflicts emerged between the community garden’s agroecological goals and the university’s institutional goals.
- Alternative agriculture in Japan is best thought of as multiple overlapping movements with low levels of legibility for outside observers.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH - Transdisciplinary initiatives benefit from clarifying their goals. This can help to clarify the connection between different programs and the best strategy to respond to a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Alternative agricultural initiatives frequently face tensions between agroecological goals and other goals.
Photo above: The Eco-farm at Utsunomiya University. Photo courtesy of the authors. |
