#Japan #CTC #Shirakawa #Smart Nexus Agri #Yoshinoya Farm

CTC and Yoshinoya Farm Initiate Smart Nexus Agri Project

In a groundbreaking initiative, CTC (Itochu Techno-Solutions Corporation) and Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima have announced the launch of the Smart Nexus Agri Project. This collaborative research project aims to utilize smart agricultural technologies to promote sustainable farming management and enable the training of future farmers. Running from April 2026 to March 2027, the project will focus on improving efficiency in rice cultivation through effective information sharing, reducing labor burdens, and increasing yields.

As farming operations have become progressively larger, Japan is facing an alarming increase in abandoned farmland due to the aging workforce and lack of new entrants. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has projected that by 2026, the average age of essential agricultural workers will reach 69.2 years, exacerbating the expected shortage of agricultural labor. While there is growing anticipation for the benefits of smart agriculture technologies involving precision equipment and sensing tools, there remain significant obstacles in terms of time and manpower for the assessment of various tools and services, hindering meaningful implementation. Consequently, the next generation of farmers misses opportunities to engage with these technologies, which slows the onboarding of new talent and the dissemination of techniques.

The Smart Nexus Agri Project aims to tackle these challenges by developing methods for implementing selected smart agriculture technologies that lead to increased productivity and sustainable farming practices. Currently, the Yoshinoya Farm has made an extensive rice paddy field of approximately 50 hectares, consisting of 233 plots in Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, available as a testing ground for this project.

CTC will focus on the selection, procurement, and environmental arrangement of smart agriculture services, including cloud-based record management, water level and temperature sensors, and automatic irrigation gates, to enhance information sharing and lessen the manual effort in rice cultivation. The project involves designing practical tests and data analysis to facilitate efficient farming.

Overview of the Smart Nexus Agri Project

• - Duration: April 2026 to March 2027 (with a harvest expected by the end of September 2026)
• - Target Crop: Rice (variety: Koshihikari)
• - Research Location: Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima, Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture
• - Research Components:

1. Utilizing cultivation record management services to share and visualize growth conditions, field information, and task records.
2. Verifying labor-reducing methods through remote management using water level and temperature sensors and automatic irrigation gates.

Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima, established in October 2013 as a corporation co-funded by Yoshinoya Holdings and local farmers, is committed to stable procurement of agricultural products for its group entities like Yoshinoya and Hanamaru, while invigorating Japanese agriculture. The farm champions smart agriculture by integrating IT with farming practices to address the aging workforce and labor shortages, paving the way toward sustainable agricultural models for future generations.

CTC has also engaged in various validation experiments aimed at measuring greenhouse gas emissions and visualizing data within agricultural landscapes. In 2025, they are working on constructing a system to accumulate and visualize environmental data specifically related to rice cultivation.

The collaboration between CTC and Yoshinoya Farm aims to validate the practical approaches to implementing smart agricultural technologies, striving for both efficiency in labor and increased productivity. Furthermore, findings from this research will pave the way for developing AI agents that support rice cultivation, contributing to a new agricultural model that sustains Japan’s rice farming legacy.

Insights from the Project Leaders

• - Naohiro Fujisawa, Director of the Mirai Research Institute at CTC: "Our research tackles social issues through digital technologies. Given the growing crisis in agricultural labor, smart agriculture that visualizes and shares the knowledge accumulated in the farming workforce will play a vital role in supporting sustainable agriculture and food security in Japan. Collaborative research with Yoshinoya Farm will help us determine how digital technologies like sensors and cloud services can be effectively integrated into real agricultural settings to solve pressing challenges."
• - Kuniaki Takida, Vice President of Yoshinoya Farm Fukushima: "We are immensely encouraged by this partnership with CTC. While we have consistently valued foundational agricultural practices by focusing on each rice field, the challenges of labor shortages, an aging workforce, and the management complexities stemming from larger operations cannot be ignored. To ensure the future of Japanese food production, it is essential to fuse the traditional knowledge of farming with modern data and IT solutions. Through this project, we aim to validate the effectiveness of smart agriculture, create an environment that encourages ongoing agricultural engagement, and nurture the next generation of farmers."

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