綜觀世界各國已將農業塑造成高經濟價值的產業;反觀糧食自給率僅30.6%的我國,農業發展上遇到許多的困境,不僅嚴重依賴進口,還持續採取大量化學肥料與農藥的慣行農法,且務農者以60歲以上佔所有從農者的65%,可見臺灣農業沒落與農村勞動力老化的問題極為嚴重。近年來有越來越多的年輕族群願意放棄都市的工作而踏入農業;由於他們的學經歷背景與農業較無直接關係,因此從農的過程不是非常的順遂,迎接他們的是解決不完的難題與觀念上的衝突。故本研究採質性研究中的敘說探究法,探討都市回農者的心路歷程以及他們對未來農業發展的影響。 研究結果顯示,背負非常沉重心理壓力的回農者,對農業的熱忱不減,並且樂觀看好農業的發展,更想為傳統農業注入新的思維;回農者認為農民不僅要懂得耕作,更應該重視行銷與品牌的建立,藉由推廣來提升農業的整體價值;但同時也在回農者的返鄉過程中找到他們與固守者間觀念的拔河;在他們的觀念中,務農不是一個不好或是地位低下的職業,且務農使得其與家人有共同的經驗和話題,拉近親情間的關係。 回農者懂得適時地因應環境的變化而調整務農的腳步勇於為自己事業注入創意,也讓更多人看見農業未來的契機與可塑性。從六位回農者中發現了一些讓他們突破務農困境的共同特質,如果要說他們是回農者,不如說他們是創業家,選擇的行業是農業的創業家。回農者為停滯的農村引入新的活水,期待有更多的回農者,為農村的發展由量變轉為質變。
Agriculture has been shaped as a high value-added industry in many countries of the world. However, we are facing many predicaments in Taiwan. Not only our food supply is seriously dependent on the import with only 30.6% self-reliant rate; farming in Taiwan even keeps using chemical fertilizer and pesticide heavily. In addition, 65% of the farmers are over 60 years old. The downgrade agriculture and the issue of aged labor force are serious problems. Young people from the metropolitan, on the other hand, are willing to give up their careers and step into agriculture in recent years, although their education backgrounds and experiences have no direct relation to agriculture. These new farming migrants, however, encountered endless problems and conflicts in mind on their journey to agriculture. This study aims at exploring the mentality of urban-to-rural farmers and its impacts on the future development of agriculture by way of narrative inquiry approach in the qualitative research. The result shows that, the urban-to-rural farmers’ enthusiasm on farming did not diminish even under heavy mental pressure. They are optimistic for the future of agriculture development. They express their willingness to develop, improve, or even infuse new thoughts for the conventional farming. They believe farmers not only need the knowledge of farming and crops, they should also pay more attention to marketing, packaging, customer networking, branding, and promotion to raise the overall value of agriculture. There is always an issue of ‘conflict of concepts’ between them and old generation farmers. In their perception, farming is not a bad or a low- status occupation, on the contrary, farming can bring about common experience and conversation subjects among family members and makes close family relationships. Urban-to-rural farmers know how to adjust their paces to respond to the farming environment, courageously initiate new ideas and apply their creativity on farming and business practices against tradition, and show the future, opportunities and flexibility of farming to others. Based on the stories of six urban-to-rural farmers, some common characteristics can be drawn. Instead of being called ‘rural farmers from urban’, they are entrepreneurs who devote to agriculture. They bring a new stream of hope and vitality for agriculture. With more urban-to-rural farmers, we expect to have quality changes for the development of agriculture in the stagnant rural area.