Field Study of
Economics Department
経済学科のフィールドスタディ

2018 Report on the Field Study D in Australia

Report from Professor: Makiko Omura
2018　Field Study D: Australian Agriculture and Japanese Market “The Third Field Study Programme in Australia”

This was the third field study programme in Brisbane, Australia, based at the University of Queensland (UQ). After arriving to Brisbane in early morning, we had a bit of hiccups meeting with the team leader, yet after meeting her who was fluent in Japanese, we bought our breakfast at a super market on the way to town and headed to the UQ to meet the host families. The students in group of one or two were allocated to different homestay families. The programme commenced the following morning at UQ, where students took 5 specialised English language classes, agricultural economics related 11 lecture/seminar sessions, 13 field visits and 1 research project.

This time, we had a different lecture/visit at the School of Agriculture and Food Science, where we learnt about various scientific approaches to food safety and efficient production. Since we usually do not study science subjects, it was interesting to learn these issues. One of the most memorable visits this time was a visit to a social enterprise supporting farms aiming for organic and sustainable agriculture, which also offered a curious contrast to another farm that we visited which supplied products to large supermarket chains with emphasis on efficiency. Learning that agricultural cooperatives do not really exist in Australia, it was interesting to learn their endeavour and policies vis-a-vis our own. We renewed our visit to JBS Australia, the world largest meat company, and learnt about their strategies as a global exporting firm, although it was unfortunately that we could not visit the factory this time. It gave us additional information to what we had already learnt in the Case Study D course before coming to Australia. This time, we had a research project session based on a documentary film and articles about the Australian drought and the distress of cattle farmers. This gave us a valuable opportunity to think through various issues surrounding the lack of water, that we were generally not so conscious. The closing luncheon offered us some delicacy of kangaroo and crocodile meat which we all enjoyed.

The season in Australia was opposite to that in Japan, and the first few days were especially cold, however, luckily no one had any health issue. Some students could have tried to engage themselves more in learning, even though each one should have deepened their knowledge and experience. While homestay was not problem-free, they all enjoyed their homestay life. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has made this programme possible.