Assessment of Socio-Economic Values of Agricultural Experience Services in School Garden Education

Abstract

Background and objective: This study intends to assess the socio-economic monetary value of school garden education services by converting them into market values using assessment indicators for school gardens, which are spaces for students to engage in various experiences and urban agricultural activities. Methods: We identified the characteristics and current status of urban school gardens through literature review, collected opinions from a total of two rounds of expert advice, determined willingness to pay (WTP) and the importance of detailed values based on the parent survey, estimated the monetary value of each detailed value using the contingent valuation method (CVM) of WTP, and estimated three economic values. Results: The total amount of educational, health, welfare, and environmental values provided by school garden education for participating students was estimated to range from a minimum of 193.1 billion won to a maximum of 978.4 billion won. The total amount of economic value provided to farm households, related industries and the economically active population was estimated to be 476.1 billion won. The job creation effect was the highest at 266.2 billion won, followed by the industrial ripple effect (157.3 billion won) and the farm household income increase effect (52.6 billion won). The evolution of school gardens is expected to reduce problems in urban areas such as environmental issues, promote community spirit through agriculture, and produce industrial ripple effects such as an increase in farm household income and job creation, raising the need to maintain multiple functions of school gardens. The total socio-economic value of school garden education seemed to range from 669.2 billion won to 1.4545 trillion won based on the operating fund, government budget, and value-added tax (VAT) of 2020. Conclusion: The results of this study can be used as basic data to assess the overall value of agricultural experience services in school garden education.