Iizuna Town to Implement Agricultural Support Project with External Companies
Iizuna Town will implement an agricultural support project from May 13-15, inviting companies from outside the town to address farmer labor shortages and promote health management. Employees will contribute to the region through farm work, with expected stress reduction benefits.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 18:30
- 🔍 Collected: May 12, 2026 at 10:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 12, 2026 at 10:45 (43 min after Collected)
Iizuna Town will implement an agricultural support project from May 13 to 15, inviting companies from outside the town, as one of its initiatives to resolve the chronic labor shortage among farmers.
1. Purpose of this Initiative
Iizuna Town's strength and appeal lie in its production of delicious fruits, such as apples, which ranked first in sales on "Rakuten Furusato Nozei" in FY2023. However, in the production fields, the decrease in farmers due to the outflow of young people from the town and the aging of farmers has become a significant problem. To maintain and develop the town's agriculture, there are limits to what local farmers alone can do, and it is considered important to "gain support from many people outside the town, including those working for non-agricultural companies."
Meanwhile, in FY2024 and FY2205, the town conducted a "Study on the Stress Reduction Effects of Farm Work" as a joint project with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Juntendo University. As a result, it was recognized that moderate farm work is effective in reducing stress, and from the perspective of "health management," it became clear that farm work is an effective activity for companies working to maintain and improve the health of their employees.
In this initiative, employees from companies who have endorsed the project will be invited to provide agricultural support, in order to expand possibilities such as "in-house training/welfare incorporating farm work," "realization of social contribution (CSR activities)," and "promotion of agricultural side jobs by companies."
Furthermore, this initiative utilizes the one-day farm job app "daywork."
2. Outline of this Initiative
◆ Date: May 13 (Wed) - 15 (Fri), 2026, 10:00 - 16:00
◆ Work Content: Apple orchard work (fruit thinning, branch training, weeding (with riding mower))
Paddy field work (rice planting assistance, seedling box transport, replanting gaps in machine-planted areas, etc.)
Indoor work such as labeling processed goods at a workshop in case of rain.
◆ Meeting Place: Imokawa Disaster Prevention Center (1531-2 Oaza Imokawa, Iizuna-machi, Kamiminochi-gun, Nagano Prefecture)
◆ Scheduled Participating Companies: 3 private companies
◆ Daily Schedule (same for all three days)
Time
Content
Location
9:40〜10:00
Orientation (work explanation)
Imokawa Disaster Prevention Center
〜11:30
Agricultural support (morning) *Divided into two groups, morning and afternoon work content swapped
Aizawa Farm (apple orchard, paddy field)
11:30〜13:00
Lunch break (boxed meal: time to learn gratitude for food)
Iizuna Apple Museum
13:00〜16:00
Agricultural support (afternoon) *Includes breaks
Aizawa Farm (apple orchard, paddy field)
16:00
End
Contact
Iizuna Town, Industry Tourism Division, Agricultural Policy Section
TEL: 026-253-4765
E-mail: nousei@town.iizuna.nagano.jp
1. Purpose of this Initiative
Iizuna Town's strength and appeal lie in its production of delicious fruits, such as apples, which ranked first in sales on "Rakuten Furusato Nozei" in FY2023. However, in the production fields, the decrease in farmers due to the outflow of young people from the town and the aging of farmers has become a significant problem. To maintain and develop the town's agriculture, there are limits to what local farmers alone can do, and it is considered important to "gain support from many people outside the town, including those working for non-agricultural companies."
Meanwhile, in FY2024 and FY2205, the town conducted a "Study on the Stress Reduction Effects of Farm Work" as a joint project with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Juntendo University. As a result, it was recognized that moderate farm work is effective in reducing stress, and from the perspective of "health management," it became clear that farm work is an effective activity for companies working to maintain and improve the health of their employees.
In this initiative, employees from companies who have endorsed the project will be invited to provide agricultural support, in order to expand possibilities such as "in-house training/welfare incorporating farm work," "realization of social contribution (CSR activities)," and "promotion of agricultural side jobs by companies."
Furthermore, this initiative utilizes the one-day farm job app "daywork."
2. Outline of this Initiative
◆ Date: May 13 (Wed) - 15 (Fri), 2026, 10:00 - 16:00
◆ Work Content: Apple orchard work (fruit thinning, branch training, weeding (with riding mower))
Paddy field work (rice planting assistance, seedling box transport, replanting gaps in machine-planted areas, etc.)
Indoor work such as labeling processed goods at a workshop in case of rain.
◆ Meeting Place: Imokawa Disaster Prevention Center (1531-2 Oaza Imokawa, Iizuna-machi, Kamiminochi-gun, Nagano Prefecture)
◆ Scheduled Participating Companies: 3 private companies
◆ Daily Schedule (same for all three days)
Time
Content
Location
9:40〜10:00
Orientation (work explanation)
Imokawa Disaster Prevention Center
〜11:30
Agricultural support (morning) *Divided into two groups, morning and afternoon work content swapped
Aizawa Farm (apple orchard, paddy field)
11:30〜13:00
Lunch break (boxed meal: time to learn gratitude for food)
Iizuna Apple Museum
13:00〜16:00
Agricultural support (afternoon) *Includes breaks
Aizawa Farm (apple orchard, paddy field)
16:00
End
Contact
Iizuna Town, Industry Tourism Division, Agricultural Policy Section
TEL: 026-253-4765
E-mail: nousei@town.iizuna.nagano.jp