Search: Look for:   Last 1 Month   Last 6 Months   All time

Japanese companies use ICT to boost farming

Tokyo, Wed, 19 Mar 2014 ANI

Tokyo, Mar.19 (ANI): To give a fillip to farming, companies like Fujitsu are promoting research to bring in innovation through Information and Communication Technology or ICT.

In Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture, the company runs a project called Akisai, a cloud computing service, to support farming.

In this greenhouse, various types of environmental data are collected and an appropriate condition is automatically controlled from the computer centre.

Since climate change is a big concern in Japan, it is important to control the environment for greenhouse horticulture.

The environmental control box is the information gateway to the computer center and is the intelligent operator of the equipment.

Akisai is already used by about 160 clients, including educational institutions, where future farmers study streamlined operations and business management.

Takeshi Sudo, senior vice president, Innovative Business Develop, Fujitsu Limited, said: "In Japan the farms are not very large as compared to other countries. So, it's important to find ways to increase yields. And cloud computing is well-suited, as it is good at connecting and managing separate businesses effectively. We want to change agriculture at home and abroad by utilizing ICT."

A few miles from Tokyo, there is a farmland in Ushiku city in Ibaraki prefecture.

It is managed by AEON Agri Centre, a subsidiary of the AEON group, which is the largest retailer in Asia.

The 16 hectare farm, including 1 hectare greenhouse, cultivates vegetables such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage and spinach.

There are 14 direct management farms in Japan and their produce is shipped directly to AEON group retail outlets.

Yasuaki Fukunaga, president, AEON Agri Create Co. Ltd., said: "All farms follow the international standard called "Global GAP" to guarantee safety and security of the agricultural product."

AEON is also working on data utilization in agriculture.

Use of ICT greatly improves agricultural skills and techniques in the field.

Fukunaga further said:"This is a censor console. Information about EC, PH and moisture percentage of the soil are captured by the censor. And the camera above is taking continuous pictures from a fixed observation point. The conditions of the soil and the growth situation are linked together, and analyzed as big data."

The employees also use mobile phones to collect data on production operation results and growth.

The data has is shared with all 14 farms through the Internet.

Jun Hamamoto, Head of Ushiku Farm, AEON Agri Create Co. Ltd., said: "The information is stored in the Cloud. Everyone can share and observe it in real time. This is SaaS (Software as a Service) based solution for agricultural production management system developed by Fujitsu."

Fujitsu provides innovative support services that use data in managing and problem-solving in agricultural operations.

Jun Hamamoto, Head of Ushiku Farm, AEON Agri Create Co. Ltd., said: "By using this data from the field, we can prevent repeated operation failures and maximize production. It is also very helpful in improving our technical capabilities in farming."

By the analysis of data, it is possible to optimize the scheduling of tasks such as watering, fertilizer and harvesting without relying on instinct and experience.

This is the new form of agriculture that AEON is aiming at. (ANI)


LATEST IMAGES
Manohar Lal being presented with a memento
Manoj Tiwari BJP Relief meets the family members of late Ankit Sharma
Haryana CM Manohar Lal congratulate former Deputy PM Lal Krishna Advani on his 92nd birthday
King of Bhutan, the Bhutan Queen and Crown Prince meeting the PM Modi
PM Narendra Modi welcomes the King of Bhutan
Post comments:
Your Name (*) :
Your Email :
Your Phone :
Your Comment (*):
  Reload Image
 
 

Comments:


 

OTHER TOP STORIES


Excellent Hair Fall Treatment
Careers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | About Us | Contact Us | | Latest News
Copyright © 2015 NEWS TRACK India All rights reserved.