AI Enhancing Indoor Farming in Japan

Tokyo, Aug. 25 (Jiji Press)--Companies are turning to artificial intelligence and sensor technology to improve the efficiency of indoor farming in Japan as the country faces a growing shortage of farmers.

Oishii Farm Corp., which runs a strawberry factory in the United States, recently established a new research and development base in Hamura, a city in western Tokyo. It plans to develop efficient methods for cultivating other crops, such as tomatoes, indoors and robots capable of automatically planting and packaging produce.

The company uses AI to manage the breeding environment for bees, which are essential for pollination. The technology has raised the pollination rate for its strawberries to 95 pct.

"We're able to achieve hundreds of years' worth of traditional outdoor breeding progress within a single year," Hiroki Koga, co-founder and CEO of Oishii Farm, said, emphasizing the benefits of plant factories unaffected by season or weather.

In June, NTT East Inc., a telecommunications operator, and other companies launched an aquaponics test in Tokyo that combines the cultivation of Japanese "nishikigoi" ornamental carp and ginseng.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]