Creating Mechanisms of Eco-friendly Apple Cultivation and Raising Health Awareness Using Information Technology

Abstract

In Aomori Prefecture, several problems have become major issues. Namely, those of individuals’ insufficient environmental awareness (open burning in agricultural work including apple cultivation, etc.), the lowest life expectancy in Japan (Aomori is the prefecture with the lowest average life expectancy for both men and women nationwide), and the seriousness of the economic situation (individual incomes in Aomori are the lowest in the country). Separate solutions have been adopted for each of these problems, but the effectiveness of such solutions is doubtful. Each problem is conceivable in itself as both a cause and an effect. So we need to solve them all simultaneously. Each previous solutions had common goals of expanding social education. Therefore, our research aims to create a mechanism to solve the above problems at the same time by creating necessity to participate in social education, researching apple cultivation which is representative agriculture in Aomori prefecture. The mechanism comprises three systems. The “LCA / Business Support System”, the “Traceability System” and the “Education Point Payment System”. For the present study, we created a tool for inputting work data and running life cycle assessments (LCAs) to act as the LCA / Business Support System, and then carried out a data entry and LCA test-run. As a result, we confirmed that this tool can be constructed inexpensively and that the user can easily ascertain the situation of environmental burden and work which needs improvement. This also confirms the possibility of using this mechanism to create motivation for change by necessity.