TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Japanese technology firms are applying their expertise in energy-saving and cloud technology to help farmers cope with shifting weather patterns, an onslaught of cheaper imports and a shrinking workforce, as reported by Reuters.
Panasonic Corp, Fujitsu Ltd and others, seeking niche business opportunities to offset a downturn in demand for their consumer electronics, are touting automated greenhouses and sensor-controlled fields that ensure constant conditions to produce high-quality vegetables all year-round.
Fujitsu says its Akisai cloud-based farming system means users can sit at a desk in Tokyo or even New York while tending vegetables in Shizuoka, using a tablet to operate sprinklers, fans and heaters in response to changes in heat and moisture tracked by sensors in fields or greenhouses.
Companies are also converting factories into farms: Toshiba Corp is to start growing vegetables at a former floppy disk plant near Tokyo, while Panasonic is growing radishes and lettuce inside a Singapore factory, and Sharp Corp is trialling an indoor strawberry farm in Dubai.
This tech push into farming is endorsed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, which is promoting robotics and sensors to boost farm production and exports – essential if Japan concedes to lower agricultural tariffs in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement.
REUTERS