Kokubunji Citizen Agriculture College & Farm-Support Volunteers
Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan · Operator: 国分寺市
Overview
Kokubunji launched farm-support volunteering in 1996 and certifies residents who learn cultivation year-round at its Citizen Agriculture College, introducing them to local farmers. About 80 volunteers are now active, and the city also supports six experience farms — a workforce-building urban-agriculture policy.
Citizen participation
Residents learn vegetable growing from sowing to harvest from April to December at the 'Citizen Agriculture College' (¥10,000/year, three sessions a week); graduates of the skills course become 'farm-support volunteers' who help on local farmers' fields, supporting professional farmers as urban-agriculture helpers.
Operating model
A public farmer-training and farm-support scheme run by Kokubunji. Beginning with a 1996 pilot, it trains and certifies volunteers through the Citizen Agriculture College and introduces them to host farmers; the city also supports experience farms.
Impact
Trains residents as urban-agriculture helpers, supporting short-handed farmers while achieving farmland conservation and food education — a leading model in the Tama area.
Crops
- 野菜全般
Scale
援農ボランティアモデル事業を平成8年度（1996年）開始。現在約80名のボランティアが市内で活動。農業体験農園は市内6箇所
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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