2022 Volume 57 Issue 2 Pages 73-81
Among the challenges for intellectually disabled persons when they start farming is that the tasks they can be entrusted with are limited, and their production efficiency is reduced. In this study, we examined whether it would be possible to shorten the working hours of students with intellectual disabilities by combining “elementary process decomposition” （decomposition of a process to a task that can be done with only one action or repetition of that action） and assistance tools, along with cultivation in fiber-medium pots that take advantage of the existing fence. In the study, five students from a special-needs senior high school cultivated Japanese yam, for which there is concern about the lack of successor in the prefecture. Three surveys were conducted: （1） a descriptive survey of the students’ work style, （2） a comparative survey of work time involved in each process, and （3） a comparative survey of harvests obtained using different cultivation methods. We found that the students were able to carry out all processes independently except for sprouting, which required assistance by supporters. The total work time for all processes was 476 minutes with the conventional method and 313 minutes using the fiber-medium method, a reduction of 163 minutes; this difference was significant at the 0.1% level （p<0.001）. The fiber-medium method had a significantly greater yield than the conventional method, again at the 0.1% level（p<0.001）. On the other hand, the external shape of Japanese yam was significantly more spherical in the conventional method, at the 0.1% level. Together, these results show that students with intellectual disabilities can work independently and with reduced work time through a combination of elementary process decomposition, assistance tools, and cultivation in fiber-medium pots that take advantage of the existing fence.
