Abstract
This study has two aims: first, it aims to identify the effects of universalizing the agricultural environment. To this end, it is important to subdivide workers’ tasks and to understand their individuality. Thanks to universalization, many persons with disabilities have found employment opportunities. In addition, universalizing the agricultural environment has created opportunities for not only persons with disabilities but also the elderly, women, young people, and people with work difficulties to participate in the community. The second aim is to clarify the effects of care farming using the therapeutic effects of agriculture. Case studies in the Netherlands have shown that care farming can be a beneficial place for persons with disabilities who have difficulty working, children who do not attend school, people with dementia, people suffering from burnout, and so on. However, challenges abound. Agricultural products derived from care farming rarely find their way to the market. It is important to consider ways to make better use of agricultural products. Furthermore, care farming approaches in the Netherlands are still not well known in Japan. As communities develop a better understanding of care farming and the universalization of agriculture, social farming will spread in various ways. Social farming will then become positioned as an important actor in the food system.
