Harvesting season hits hard every time. Lifting 66-pound bags of rice, carrying farming tools to and from the rice fields, the sudden storms that threaten to destroy a year’s worth of effort… the list could go on.
But this year, it will be different. A smartphone application, with information sent from a nearby satellite, dings with a notification that an automatic pump has just adjusted water levels in the rice fields.
It’s time for smart agriculture.
Rice fields taken by 浅野ます道, File:水田（成島） – panoramio.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
What is smart agriculture?
Smart agriculture, a phrase coined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, is agriculture that incorporates:
- GPS system-powered automated machines
- soil and farming data mining
- physical strength-enhancing machines
- the digitization of farming knowledge through the visualization of meteorological data
- and a cloud system that connects producers, consumers, and other related parties through the sharing of information.
The plan to introduce smart technology in the Japanese agricultural world was first introduced in 2009. Since then, start-ups, universities, and some large industries are developing technology that has begun to revolutionize the Japanese agricultural landscape.
What prompted smart agriculture in Japan?
More than 60% of Japanese farmers are over 65 years old and few young people are taking up the trade. Lifting bags of rice and other harvested products fully depends on physical strength. While this might not present problems when workers are young, with the aging population physical labor might lead to health hazards or even death.
With elderly farmers retiring, expert farming knowledge is being lost. In many cases farming knowledge is very place-specific, especially in Japan where the mountains create regional ecosystems characterized by unique weather.
How can smart agriculture help solve these problems?
To compensate for the diminishing farming population, GPS-operated automated machines have been introduced. With this technology, one can operate multiple tractors to conduct repetitive tasks such as planting, weeding, and harvesting.
Drones with satellite-fed data that spray fertilizer and pesticides onto plants have also been introduced. These machines can scan for soil mineral composition, as well as detect insect movement to pinpoint pesticide application and greatly reduce pesticide overuse.
Power suits solve a different problem. Elderly farmers often cannot do the tasks that are in between the mechanized labor, such as lifting heavy objects. To compensate, technology that enhances physical strength, developed to use in nursing homes, has been reconfigured for use by the elderly and women in the farming business.
Companies have developed artificial intelligence and other data-amassing technology to digitize elderly farmers’ experience-based intuition and knowledge. The system tracks weather patterns and predicts insect infestations or potential diseases. Now, the younger generation can learn how to make effective decisions without years of farming experience or undergoing apprenticeship.
Studies on how incorporating AI technology and data mapping affects farming productivity have revealed that the work time was cut by 9% and yearly income was increased by 9%. Smart Agriculture works not only to compensate for the diminishing population but also to increase profits.
How many Japanese farmers are actually using smart agriculture?
The deployment of smart agriculture technologies has gained momentum in the last few years, and there is still much to be explored in terms of its effectiveness.
In June 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that 23.3% of Japanese farmers are incorporating GPS and meteorological data into their agricultural decision-making process. Power suits are starting to become incorporated in fruit orchards, while automated tractors are becoming more common in rice fields built on plains.
Of course, farmers, especially the elderly, do not simply learn how to use these technologies in a day or two. Many government and company-sponsored Youtube tutorials are available, and many universities and high schools now offer classes and internship opportunities that teach students how to effectively use smart agriculture.
But what about the costs?
Many smart agriculture technologies are expensive. To make them more accessible, the Japanese government often subsidizes the installation cost of artificial intelligence and power suits. The power suits by Power Assist International, for example, subsidize up to 50% of the total cost.
Some products, such as automated vehicles, are not subject to subsidization, and since the technology is still new, many of the products cost thousands of dollars. In the case where technology is too expensive, some communities have opted to share machinery and split the costs.
What’s Going to Happen Next in the Japanese Agricultural World?
Many things! There are currently 212 smart technology products cataloged by the Ministry of Agriculture, and that is just for rice farming.
Japanese agriculture is at a crossroads with the aging of the farming population and the snowballing problems caused by depopulation. With inexperienced younger generations and foreign workers replacing experienced farmers, systems that allow them to work longer by enhancing physical strength or compensating for their lack of local farming knowledge are essential.
When a tourist visits a Japanese rural landscape in ten years, spying a drone buzzing in the blue sky or passing by farmers wearing power suits might be commonplace.