From October 2022th to 10th, 8, the Nobuyuki Katsuura seminar of the Josai University Faculty of Economics, who is involved in the “Nagano City Apple Farmer Support Project”, will participate in supporting apple farmers in the city, which is aging.Students harvested about 9 apples in two days.
The “Nagano City Apple Farmer Support Project” started when it became a hot topic in the Katsuura seminar that apple farmers in Nagano City were severely damaged by Typhoon No. 2019 in 19. Since we can know 3-4 days in advance, we should just harvest it all at once."In response to this opinion, a student from Nagano City said, ``Many apple farmers are in hilly and mountainous areas or in depopulated areas. Apples are quite heavy, and we can't harvest them all at once because we don't have enough people.” was realized.
Seminar students helped with the harvest for the first time in the fall of 2021, and in the fall of 2022, they continued to help farmers while paying attention to infection prevention, harvesting about 2 apples in two days.One of the students who participated said, "Usually, I thought that vegetables and fruits were lined up in supermarkets as a matter of course, but this time I experienced picking apples and learned about everything from cultivation to harvesting, shipping, and going through the market to lining up in supermarkets. I really appreciate the hard work of many people involved.Amidst the great difficulty of harvesting alone, I would like to express my gratitude to the producers, saying, ``Thank you for always producing delicious vegetables and fruits.'' One participant commented, "I realized that the declining and aging population is becoming a more serious problem in the fields of agriculture and other primary industries, which are the most important part of our lives. I will participate again next year!" .
It seems that the seminar students who participated were able to experience various issues related to agriculture while fostering teamwork through harvesting experiences and training camps with their friends.The Katsuura seminar will continue this project in the future.
