Japan's Next Generation of Farmers Could Be Robots
Japan's Next Generation of Farmers Could Be Robots
By Aya Takada April 22, 2016 — 5:00 PM PDT Updated on
April 23, 2016 — 12:29 AM PDT
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has warned that
left unchecked, aging farmers could threaten the ability to produce the food
the world needs. The average age of growers in developed countries is now about
60, according to the United Nations. Japan plans to spend 4 billion yen ($36
million) in the year through March to promote farm automation and help develop
20 different types of robots, including one that separates over-ripe peaches
when harvesting.
“There are no other options for farmers but to rely on
technologies developed by companies if they want to raise productivity while
they are graying,” said Makiko Tsugata, senior analyst at Mizuho Securities Co.
in Tokyo. “The government should help them adopt new technologies.”
Kobe Beef
The meeting will also be attended by ministers from other
countries including Germany’s Christian Schmidt, Italy’s Maurizio Martina, and
Canada’s Lawrence Macaulay. The U.K. is represented by George Eustice,
parliamentary under secretary, and France by Thierry Dana, ambassador to Japan.
Moriyama said at the beginning of a bilateral meeting with Vilsack on Saturday
that he wants to serve the guests premium Kobe beef, which Japan wants to
promote overseas.
The amount of uncultivated farmland in Japan almost
doubled in the past two decades, reaching 420,000 hectares in 2015, as farmers
retired, data from the ministry show. About 65 percent of growers are 65 years
or older. The dearth of young people willing to take up farming has increased
concerns that Japan’s reliance on food imports will deepen, with the nation
already getting about 60 percent of its food supplies from overseas.
Aging Farmers
“Aging farmers are threatening the sustainability of
agricultural communities in Japan as the population globally is expanding and
raising the need to boost food production to meet demand,” Moriyama said in his
opening remarks to the seven-member meeting. “We, as the members of the Group
of Seven nations, share common problems and want to discuss them together for a
solution.”
Kubota Corp., Japan’s largest maker of agricultural
machinery, has already developed its first prototype autonomous tractor for use
in rice paddies. Equipped with a global positioning system, the vehicle
cultivates fields and fertilizes after checking soil conditions. Iseki &
Co. and Yanmar Co. are also developing autonomous tractors and harvesters with
Hitachi Ltd. developing systems for farm machinery.
It’s not just vehicles. Kubota is also developing and
marketing a suit-like device to help farmers harvest and carry fruit and
vegetables. The ministry expects the robots, which can be put on like a
backpack, to be able to help elderly and female farmers in field work that is
difficult to be automated.
“Applying new technologies to farming will boost the appeal
of agriculture to younger people and help increase their participation in the
sector,” said Takaki Shigemoto, analyst at JSC Corp., researcher in Tokyo.
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