Tag: technology

What is data visualization? Explaining the benefits, examples, and specific steps of data visualization
Data visualization is a technique for representing complex information in an intuitively understandable form using graphs and charts. It is an essential technology for clearly visualizing vast amounts of data and is utilized in various business scenarios.
This article provides a comprehensive explanation of data visualization, covering its basic overview, benefits, specific examples, and practical implementation methods. If your company is considering utilizing data, please read through to the end.

What is Data Visualization?
Data visualization is a technique for visualizing vast amounts of data, such as numbers and text, and presenting it in an easily understandable format. By visually capturing trends, patterns, and anomalies that are difficult to see when just reading the data itself, it leads to more efficient analysis and decision-making.
For example, representing sales data with a bar chart allows you to grasp growth trends or periods of decline at a glance. Furthermore, visualizing complex relationships between data points can lead to new discoveries and valuable insights.
In this way, data visualization can be considered a highly effective method for companies aiming to achieve growth.

The Importance of Data Visualization
In recent years, rapid advancements in information technology have led to an explosive increase in the volume and diversity of data held by companies. Consequently, extracting useful information from this vast and varied data is extremely challenging. Simply looking at the raw data does not lead to its effective utilization.
In this context, data visualization makes it possible to efficiently derive value from massive datasets. By visually organizing complex data, it can be transformed into a form that anyone can understand intuitively, leading to faster and more accurate decision-making.
Furthermore, visual data representation has the effect of making information more memorable, making it an effective means of conveying impactful messages to decision-makers and customers. Thus, data visualization is a crucial element for enhancing a company’s competitiveness in today’s data-driven society.

Types of Data Visualization
Data visualization can be broadly divided into two categories. This chapter explains these types.
In the Field of Science and Technology
In science and technology, data visualization plays a role in visualizing vast and complex numerical data or simulation results to support analysis and discovery. For example, weather forecast maps created from meteorological data and 3D models in medical image analysis are used by experts to efficiently understand information and make highly accurate judgments.
Additionally, visually representing massive computational results, such as particle movements or space simulations, helps elucidate phenomena that are not visible to the naked eye. In this way, data visualization in science and technology significantly contributes to the deepening of scientific knowledge.
In the Field of Information Technology
In information technology, data visualization is used as a method to understand system status and business data, supporting efficient decision-making. Examples include visualizing website traffic and user behavior, as well as network traffic.
This allows operations staff to immediately identify issues and bottlenecks and respond quickly. Moreover, visualizing sales data and customer data through data visualization enables executives and marketing personnel to formulate precise strategies.
As described, data visualization is utilized in various scenes within the information technology field and has become a key element for companies building a data-driven management foundation.

Benefits of Data Visualization
So far, we have explained the overview of data visualization. What specific benefits can a company gain by utilizing it? This chapter describes three representative benefits of data visualization.
Enables Intuitive Understanding of Data
The greatest benefit of data visualization is its ability to clearly visualize complex data. Using graphs and charts allows for the instantaneous grasp of trends and patterns that are difficult to see in rows of numbers and text. For instance, representing sales data with a line chart enables anyone to intuitively understand seasonal fluctuations and growth trends.
Facilitates Efficient Decision-Making
Data visualization supports efficient human decision-making by quickly extracting key points from vast amounts of information. As a specific example, using a real-time dashboard allows you to check the progress of operations and identify issues at a glance, making it possible to take appropriate action immediately. Furthermore, because visualized information promotes accurate and efficient judgments, it also leads to improved competitiveness in business.
Enhances Smooth Information Sharing Within Teams
Using visual data makes it easier to convey information clearly, even to people without specialized knowledge. Therefore, it is extremely useful for facilitating communication with others, such as during internal presentations or customer negotiations. Organizing complex data and sharing it visually ensures that everyone understands the same information correctly, making it easier to work towards common goals.

Typical Methods of Data Visualization
Even when we say “data visualization,” the methods are diverse. This chapter picks out and introduces several representative methods.
Line Chart
Line charts are ideal for visualizing time-series data and trends. For example, they are used to show monthly sales changes or temperature variations, making it easy to grasp change patterns and seasonal trends. It is also possible to overlay and compare multiple datasets, helping to visually understand the relationships between different elements.
Bar Chart
Bar charts are suitable for comparing data across different categories. For instance, they are used to visualize sales by region or the number of customers by age group, allowing you to see the differences between categories at a glance. A major feature is the wide variety available, such as vertical, horizontal, and stacked types, which can be used depending on the purpose.
Area Chart
Area charts fill the area below a line chart and are suitable for emphasizing proportions or the overall trend of data. For example, area charts are an effective method for showing revenue breakdowns or changes in market share. Using a stacked area chart can also represent the total of multiple elements and their relative changes over time.
Indicator
Indicators are a data visualization method used to highlight specific numerical values. Their characteristic is that they allow for an intuitive grasp of progress status or goal achievement rates through simple meters or numerical displays. Indicators are often used on dashboards and contribute significantly to real-time data monitoring and rapid decision-making.
Scatter Plot
Scatter plots are ideal for showing the relationship or distribution between multiple variables. For example, they are used when analyzing the correlation between advertising spend and sales, or purchasing trends based on customer attributes. By using scatter plots, data trends and anomalies can be captured visually, making them useful as a foundation for statistical analysis.
Map
Maps are used when visualizing geographical data. For example, displaying population distribution, sales figures, or weather data by region on a map allows for an intuitive understanding of spatial patterns and characteristics of each area. In particular, heatmaps and point data overlaid on maps are frequently used in marketing and logistics.

Use Cases for Data Visualization
In what specific situations is data visualization used? This chapter introduces four representative use cases.
Finance Industry
In the finance industry, data visualization is used as a crucial tool for risk management and decision-making. For example, showing stock price trends with line charts allows investors to quickly grasp trends. Additionally, using dashboards to visualize trading data and customer portfolios in real-time helps detect fraudulent transactions and assess market risks.
Manufacturing Industry
In manufacturing, data visualization is used to monitor production processes and equipment operating status. For instance, visualizing production line operating rates and defect rates in real-time enables early problem detection and rapid response. Furthermore, displaying supply chain data on maps or flow diagrams makes it possible to efficiently consider measures for logistics optimization and cost reduction.
Digital Services Industry
In the digital services industry, visualizing user behavior and system performance helps improve services. For example, displaying in-app usage as a heatmap makes it easy to identify frequently used features or areas needing improvement. Also, monitoring server load and error occurrence in real-time enables a quick response when failures occur.
Digital Marketing
In digital marketing, data visualization is effectively used for measuring campaign effectiveness and customer analysis. For example, showing ad clicks and conversion rates with bar charts or line charts allows for an instant grasp of the results of measures. Furthermore, visualizing customer attributes and behavior data in scatter plots or segment charts helps clarify target customer characteristics, leading to the formulation of more effective marketing strategies.

A Practical Example of Data Visualization
A certain IT company visualizes its sales performance data using data visualization techniques.
Previously, the company only stored raw sales performance data in a shared internal folder. Opening the file revealed only rows of numerical performance data for each organization. This made it difficult to determine whether current performance was good or bad, posing a significant challenge due to the effort required for data utilization.
Therefore, the company devised a solution by visualizing the sales performance data using bar charts and line graphs, enabling anyone to understand the situation at a glance. At the same time, they introduced a BI tool to present the data in an easy-to-understand format and placed it on a dashboard accessible to everyone in the organization.
As a result, sales managers could instantly grasp their organization’s achievement rates and issues, allowing them to consider rapid improvement actions. Furthermore, sales team members could also check their individual performance on the dashboard, and the practice of using this information for subsequent decisions became widespread.
Additionally, this dashboard incorporated elements of customer analysis, making it possible to understand sales trends, such as what types of customers are more likely to place orders. As a result of using this information for sales activities, the company was able to use its limited sales resources efficiently, achieving a 130% year-on-year increase in sales.
This is an excellent example of how data visualization can be used to clearly present company data, leading to reduced workload and increased sales.

5 Steps to Implement Data Visualization
To successfully implement data visualization, it is necessary to follow appropriate procedures. Finally, we will explain the steps for practicing data visualization in five stages.
Step 1: Clarify the Objective
First, clarify the objective of your data visualization.
For example,
- Analyze sales trends to consider the next measures.
- Visualize product defect rates to identify causes.
  Specifically set the goals you want to achieve or the issues you want to solve. Clarifying the objective is a very important process because it allows you to efficiently collect and analyze data aligned with that goal.
Step 2: Collect and Organize Necessary Data
Next, collect the data needed to achieve the objective. If there are multiple data sources, it is important to integrate them and improve data quality by appropriately handling missing values and anomalies. Another key point is to assign priority weights to the data and select which data to use for analysis and visualization.
Step 3: Select the Appropriate Method
Once data collection and organization are complete, select the optimal method for visualizing it. As mentioned earlier, there is a wide variety of visualization methods, so it is necessary to choose appropriately according to your company’s objective.
For example:
- Time-series data: Line chart
- Categorical data: Bar chart
- Geographic information: Map
  Choose a method that suits the nature of the data and your purpose.
Step 4: Visualize the Data
After selecting the data visualization method, proceed to actually visualize the data. While it is possible to do this manually using Excel, utilizing a BI tool (a tool for clearly analyzing and visualizing data) allows you to work more efficiently. Today, there are various BI tools on the market, such as Tableau and Power BI, so it is advisable to positively consider introducing one that matches your company’s objectives.
Step 5: Implement the PDCA Cycle
It is recommended to immediately share the data visualized through data visualization with the team and relevant parties and receive feedback. This is because discussing the visualized data can lead to new ideas and points for improvement.
Furthermore, by periodically evaluating the effectiveness of the visualization and making updates or corrections as needed, you can further enhance its accuracy. By continuously running this PDCA cycle, you can maximize the effectiveness of data visualization, ultimately leading to your company’s business growth.

Conclusion
This article has explained the basic overview and benefits of data visualization, along with specific examples and practical implementation methods.
By implementing data visualization, companies can enjoy various benefits such as efficient decision-making and smoother information sharing. Re-read this article to solidify your understanding of specific cases and practical approaches.

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February 28, 2026
What is agritech, which is responsible for the future of agriculture? Explaining the background and merits of attention
There are concerns about the decline of domestic agriculture due to an aging population and a lack of successors, and agritech which combines agriculture and technology, is attracting attention as a means to solve this problem.
Agritech is being used around the world to successfully improve agricultural efficiency and increase production. In this article, we will introduce agritech and the initiatives of each company, so let’s deepen our understanding so that we can stay up to date with the times.

What is “agritech” that combines agriculture and technology?
Here, we will introduce what agritech is, which combines agriculture and technology, which is attracting attention.
Differences with smart agriculture
“Agritech” refers to technology that promotes IT in agriculture using ICT technologies such as AI, big data, and IoT , and is a coined word that combines agriculture (agriculture) and technology (technology). . Agritech is a term mainly used overseas; in Japan, it is synonymously referred to as high-tech agriculture or smart agriculture.
Domestic market size
The domestic agritech market size is expanding year by year, and according to the Fuji Keizai Group, the market size in 2018 was 69.8 billion yen, and is expected to exceed 100 billion yen in 2030.
Since it is a relatively new market, there are few barriers to entry, and not only large companies but also start-up companies and venture companies are participating, so it can be said that it is a promising industry with a bright future.
Reasons why agritech is attracting attention in Japan and social issues
One of the reasons why agritech is attracting attention in Japan is that Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate is low. Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate in 2020 was low at 37%, and it is clear that Japan relies on imports from overseas. As a result, there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to secure a stable supply of food, as we are greatly affected by the situation and trade relations in importing countries.
There are also challenges in the environment surrounding domestic agriculture. The aging of farmers and the lack of successors are also a problem, but if techniques are not passed on, there is a possibility that Japan’s agricultural technology will continue to decline. As a result, the introduction of agritech in Japan has begun little by little.
Agritech’s main initiatives
We will introduce the main initiatives related to agritech, which is attracting attention not only in Japan but also around the world.
Spraying pesticides by drone
By using small agricultural drones to spray pesticides from the sky, you can improve the efficiency of agricultural work. Previously, pesticides were manually sprayed using machines, but by operating a drone and automatically spraying pesticides, it is now possible to spread pesticides over a wide area in a short period of time. At the startup company BioC ar bon Engineering, one person operated six drones at the same time and successfully planted mangroves in Myanmar.
Monitoring and management using IoT devices
Using IoT devices, it is possible to monitor and manage livestock and crops.
For example, by monitoring the daily behavior of livestock using AI cameras, it is possible to notice minute changes in physical condition and provide the necessary care in a timely manner. Similarly, for agricultural products, there is a function that automatically notifies you of the harvest time based on the growth status, and a function that links environmental information such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight hours with harvest results, and proposes the optimal growing method according to the situation. It can also be applied to other functions.
Unified supply chain management using blockchain
Through quality control using blockchain technology, we can centralize supply chain management and provide safe and secure agricultural products. Today’s supply chains are becoming more diverse and complex, and ensuring traceability to prove the safety of agricultural products is an issue.
Therefore, blockchain technology used for crypto assets such as Bitcoin is attracting attention. In blockchain technology, each block is linked by a chain, making it difficult to tamper with the data, making it possible to prove the transparency of agricultural products.
Big data analysis
By performing big data analysis using AI, it is possible to quantify the invisible know-how of experts. This makes it possible to grasp the harvest timing based on the growth status of crops and to take appropriate measures against pests, which can be used to pass down techniques to successors.
Advantages of introducing agritech
The introduction of agritech has the potential to transform agriculture, which until now had a strong analog image, into a high-tech industry, and to greatly improve the way people work. Here, we will introduce the benefits of introducing agritech.
Improving agricultural efficiency and increasing production
One of the benefits of introducing agritech is improving the efficiency of agricultural work and increasing production. The reason is that with the introduction of agritech, agricultural tasks that were previously done manually, such as sowing seeds, spraying pesticides, and harvesting, can be performed by drones and robots, making it possible to perform a wide range of tasks in a short period of time.
Furthermore, by using the free time gained from this process to improve varieties, it has the potential to lead to the creation of new varieties.
Facilitation of new entry through digitalization
By introducing agritech and visualizing the know-how of experienced workers as data using AI, it is possible to create an environment that is easy for new entrants, such as young people who want to start farming, to enter the industry.
The know-how of experts is often passed on orally or through actual experience, and there is no guarantee that the know-how will be accurately transmitted. Furthermore, as the population continues to age, it is unlikely that people will be able to continue working until they have inherited all of their skills, so it is important to reduce the barriers to new entry by converting know-how into data using AI. .
Reduction of working hours and burden
One of the reasons why the number of farmers is decreasing is that there is an established image that farming is difficult due to various factors such as physical strength and weather. Therefore, by using agritech to have drones and robots perform agricultural work on behalf of farmers, it is possible to reduce labor hours and reduce the burden. One of the appeals of this is that you can use the free time you get to work on a side job or use it on your days off, giving you freedom in how you work.
Realizing new ways of working
Agriculture has an established image of hard labor, long hours, no days off, and demanding farm work, but by introducing agritech, it is possible to realize new ways of working that have never existed before.
Using IoT, it is possible to remotely monitor crops, and it is also possible to know the growth status of crops and the timing of harvest even when you are away from home. If this happens, you won’t have to visit the site every day.
Disadvantages of introducing agritech
So far, we have introduced the benefits of introducing Agritech, but when considering implementing Agritech, it is important to understand the disadvantages as well.
Initial cost is high
One of the disadvantages is the high initial cost of installing drones, robots, and monitoring systems.
However, if you take a long-term view, you can expect significant improvements in work efficiency and increased production, so considering it as an initial investment, it cannot be said to be a disadvantage. Please make a medium- to long-term plan and consider implementing it in order to receive these benefits.
Difficulties in securing and training skilled human resources
Agritech uses AI and IoT to improve agriculture, but users are also required to have knowledge and understanding of AI and IoT.
The difficulty of securing and training human resources with skills related to these ICT technologies is an issue, and agricultural machinery manufacturers and ICT vendors are working to develop products that are easy to use even without special skills.
Lack of compatibility with software, etc.
Since agritech uses relatively new technology, there is a problem with poor compatibility of software between devices.
Even if you try to link devices from different manufacturers, they may not be able to work together because the interface specifications for exchanging data are different. In the future, this problem may be resolved as standards are developed, but it will not be resolved overnight, and I think it will take some time.

Companies and organizations that utilize domestic agritech
Here we will introduce companies and organizations that utilize agritech in Japan.
Agricultural data sharing demonstration project implemented in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture
Niigata City is working to improve the efficiency of agricultural work and change the image of agriculture by using agritech.
Implementing agritech has been a challenge, such as high initial costs and the need for special skills. For this reason, Niigata City is implementing an agricultural data sharing demonstration project. By sharing agricultural data among multiple farmers, we have succeeded in improving productivity and production volume through data-based management decisions.
“Yanmar” utilizes in-house developed agricultural machinery
Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. is developing its own agricultural robot called Agrobot. As of November 2022, this has not yet been realized, but our goal is to develop a robot that can automatically perform tasks tailored to the local environment.
However, there are some robots that are already in practical use. A robot tractor is an agricultural robot that can automatically turn and work automatically by operating a tablet remotely. Agrobots aiming for complete automation may also become a reality in the near future.
“Midori Cloud” provides field monitoring system
Midori Cloud uses IT to measure and record the field environment and work, and converts it into data, making it possible to accumulate experience and share know-how by visualizing agricultural work.
Farmers’ sense and experience are important in agriculture, which requires dealing with an uncertain environment. At Midori Cloud, by visualizing this using IT, we have been able to improve the efficiency of agricultural work and increase production.
AGRI SMILE’s business goal is to pass on agriculture to the next generation
With AGRI SMILE’s service, by centrally managing and evaluating cultivation data, you can utilize the feedback for your next cultivation. We are also developing a service that allows cultivation techniques to be shared as VR videos, making it possible to pass them on to the next generation.

Companies and organizations that utilize overseas agritech
Agritech is attracting attention not only in Japan but also overseas. Here we will introduce companies and organizations that utilize agritech overseas.
Growing tomatoes in seawater “Sundrop Farm (Australia)”
South Australia has dry land that stretches all the way to the coast under harsh sunlight. Sundrop Farm was created by focusing on an environment where large quantities of seawater, which is unsuitable for agriculture, can be secured.
By distilling seawater using solar energy collected using specular reflection, we succeeded in securing a large amount of fresh water. We use this fresh water to grow tomatoes.
Agrobot (Spain) develops a harvesting robot
Agrobot is a company based in Spain that develops “strawberry harvesting robots”. Using a sensor at the tip of the robot, it not only determines when to harvest strawberries based on their ripeness, but also automatically harvests the strawberries.
In-house crop management and hydroponic cultivation “Plenty (USA)”
Plenty is a company that specializes in hydroponic cultivation, and grows kale and lettuce in-house. By managing crop data and controlling the amount of water and minerals, it is possible to adjust the flavor. Another feature is that the amount of water required for cultivation is about 1/20 of that of regular outdoor cultivation, contributing to water conservation.

The future of agritech
The future of agritech, which is expanding its market size, is bright as a savior for domestic agriculture, which is facing concerns about accelerating decline in agriculture due to the aging population and lack of successors.
Efforts to utilize agritech are becoming more popular not only in Japan but also overseas, and it will not be long before we see fully automated robots doing farming in place of farmers. The industry is in a period of growth, so let’s keep an eye on future trends.

Summary
So far, we have introduced agritech. In Japan, it is often referred to as smart agriculture, and although it is a technology that is attracting a lot of attention around the world, I think that few people understand it accurately.
Through this article, let’s deepen our understanding of agritech and pay attention to trends in agritech that are likely to attract more and more attention in the future.

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July 2, 2024
What is agritech, which is responsible for the future of agriculture? Explaining the background and merits of attention
There are concerns about the decline of domestic agriculture due to an aging population and a lack of successors, and agritech which combines agriculture and technology, is attracting attention as a means to solve this problem.
Agritech is being used around the world to successfully improve agricultural efficiency and increase production. In this article, we will introduce agritech and the initiatives of each company, so let’s deepen our understanding so that we can stay up to date with the times.

What is “agritech” that combines agriculture and technology?
Here, we will introduce what agritech is, which combines agriculture and technology, which is attracting attention.
Differences with smart agriculture
“Agritech” refers to technology that promotes IT in agriculture using ICT technologies such as AI, big data, and IoT , and is a coined word that combines agriculture (agriculture) and technology (technology). . Agritech is a term mainly used overseas; in Japan, it is synonymously referred to as high-tech agriculture or smart agriculture.
Domestic market size
The domestic agritech market size is expanding year by year, and according to the Fuji Keizai Group, the market size in 2018 was 69.8 billion yen, and is expected to exceed 100 billion yen in 2030.
Since it is a relatively new market, there are few barriers to entry, and not only large companies but also start-up companies and venture companies are participating, so it can be said that it is a promising industry with a bright future.
Reasons why agritech is attracting attention in Japan and social issues
One of the reasons why agritech is attracting attention in Japan is that Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate is low. Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate in 2020 was low at 37%, and it is clear that Japan relies on imports from overseas. As a result, there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to secure a stable supply of food, as we are greatly affected by the situation and trade relations in importing countries.
There are also challenges in the environment surrounding domestic agriculture. The aging of farmers and the lack of successors are also a problem, but if techniques are not passed on, there is a possibility that Japan’s agricultural technology will continue to decline. As a result, the introduction of agritech in Japan has begun little by little.
Agritech’s main initiatives
We will introduce the main initiatives related to agritech, which is attracting attention not only in Japan but also around the world.
Spraying pesticides by drone
By using small agricultural drones to spray pesticides from the sky, you can improve the efficiency of agricultural work. Previously, pesticides were manually sprayed using machines, but by operating a drone and automatically spraying pesticides, it is now possible to spread pesticides over a wide area in a short period of time. At the startup company BioC ar bon Engineering, one person operated six drones at the same time and successfully planted mangroves in Myanmar.
Monitoring and management using IoT devices
Using IoT devices, it is possible to monitor and manage livestock and crops.
For example, by monitoring the daily behavior of livestock using AI cameras, it is possible to notice minute changes in physical condition and provide the necessary care in a timely manner. Similarly, for agricultural products, there is a function that automatically notifies you of the harvest time based on the growth status, and a function that links environmental information such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight hours with harvest results, and proposes the optimal growing method according to the situation. It can also be applied to other functions.
Unified supply chain management using blockchain
Through quality control using blockchain technology, we can centralize supply chain management and provide safe and secure agricultural products. Today’s supply chains are becoming more diverse and complex, and ensuring traceability to prove the safety of agricultural products is an issue.
Therefore, blockchain technology used for crypto assets such as Bitcoin is attracting attention. In blockchain technology, each block is linked by a chain, making it difficult to tamper with the data, making it possible to prove the transparency of agricultural products.
Big data analysis
By performing big data analysis using AI, it is possible to quantify the invisible know-how of experts. This makes it possible to grasp the harvest timing based on the growth status of crops and to take appropriate measures against pests, which can be used to pass down techniques to successors.
Advantages of introducing agritech
The introduction of agritech has the potential to transform agriculture, which until now had a strong analog image, into a high-tech industry, and to greatly improve the way people work. Here, we will introduce the benefits of introducing agritech.
Improving agricultural efficiency and increasing production
One of the benefits of introducing agritech is improving the efficiency of agricultural work and increasing production. The reason is that with the introduction of agritech, agricultural tasks that were previously done manually, such as sowing seeds, spraying pesticides, and harvesting, can be performed by drones and robots, making it possible to perform a wide range of tasks in a short period of time.
Furthermore, by using the free time gained from this process to improve varieties, it has the potential to lead to the creation of new varieties.
Facilitation of new entry through digitalization
By introducing agritech and visualizing the know-how of experienced workers as data using AI, it is possible to create an environment that is easy for new entrants, such as young people who want to start farming, to enter the industry.
The know-how of experts is often passed on orally or through actual experience, and there is no guarantee that the know-how will be accurately transmitted. Furthermore, as the population continues to age, it is unlikely that people will be able to continue working until they have inherited all of their skills, so it is important to reduce the barriers to new entry by converting know-how into data using AI. .
Reduction of working hours and burden
One of the reasons why the number of farmers is decreasing is that there is an established image that farming is difficult due to various factors such as physical strength and weather. Therefore, by using agritech to have drones and robots perform agricultural work on behalf of farmers, it is possible to reduce labor hours and reduce the burden. One of the appeals of this is that you can use the free time you get to work on a side job or use it on your days off, giving you freedom in how you work.
Realizing new ways of working
Agriculture has an established image of hard labor, long hours, no days off, and demanding farm work, but by introducing agritech, it is possible to realize new ways of working that have never existed before.
Using IoT, it is possible to remotely monitor crops, and it is also possible to know the growth status of crops and the timing of harvest even when you are away from home. If this happens, you won’t have to visit the site every day.
Disadvantages of introducing agritech
So far, we have introduced the benefits of introducing Agritech, but when considering implementing Agritech, it is important to understand the disadvantages as well.
Initial cost is high
One of the disadvantages is the high initial cost of installing drones, robots, and monitoring systems.
However, if you take a long-term view, you can expect significant improvements in work efficiency and increased production, so considering it as an initial investment, it cannot be said to be a disadvantage. Please make a medium- to long-term plan and consider implementing it in order to receive these benefits.
Difficulties in securing and training skilled human resources
Agritech uses AI and IoT to improve agriculture, but users are also required to have knowledge and understanding of AI and IoT.
The difficulty of securing and training human resources with skills related to these ICT technologies is an issue, and agricultural machinery manufacturers and ICT vendors are working to develop products that are easy to use even without special skills.
Lack of compatibility with software, etc.
Since agritech uses relatively new technology, there is a problem with poor compatibility of software between devices.
Even if you try to link devices from different manufacturers, they may not be able to work together because the interface specifications for exchanging data are different. In the future, this problem may be resolved as standards are developed, but it will not be resolved overnight, and I think it will take some time.

Companies and organizations that utilize domestic agritech
Here we will introduce companies and organizations that utilize agritech in Japan.
Agricultural data sharing demonstration project implemented in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture
Niigata City is working to improve the efficiency of agricultural work and change the image of agriculture by using agritech.
Implementing agritech has been a challenge, such as high initial costs and the need for special skills. For this reason, Niigata City is implementing an agricultural data sharing demonstration project. By sharing agricultural data among multiple farmers, we have succeeded in improving productivity and production volume through data-based management decisions.
“Yanmar” utilizes in-house developed agricultural machinery
Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. is developing its own agricultural robot called Agrobot. As of November 2022, this has not yet been realized, but our goal is to develop a robot that can automatically perform tasks tailored to the local environment.
However, there are some robots that are already in practical use. A robot tractor is an agricultural robot that can automatically turn and work automatically by operating a tablet remotely. Agrobots aiming for complete automation may also become a reality in the near future.
“Midori Cloud” provides field monitoring system
Midori Cloud uses IT to measure and record the field environment and work, and converts it into data, making it possible to accumulate experience and share know-how by visualizing agricultural work.
Farmers’ sense and experience are important in agriculture, which requires dealing with an uncertain environment. At Midori Cloud, by visualizing this using IT, we have been able to improve the efficiency of agricultural work and increase production.
AGRI SMILE’s business goal is to pass on agriculture to the next generation
With AGRI SMILE’s service, by centrally managing and evaluating cultivation data, you can utilize the feedback for your next cultivation. We are also developing a service that allows cultivation techniques to be shared as VR videos, making it possible to pass them on to the next generation.

Companies and organizations that utilize overseas agritech
Agritech is attracting attention not only in Japan but also overseas. Here we will introduce companies and organizations that utilize agritech overseas.
Growing tomatoes in seawater “Sundrop Farm (Australia)”
South Australia has dry land that stretches all the way to the coast under harsh sunlight. Sundrop Farm was created by focusing on an environment where large quantities of seawater, which is unsuitable for agriculture, can be secured.
By distilling seawater using solar energy collected using specular reflection, we succeeded in securing a large amount of fresh water. We use this fresh water to grow tomatoes.
Agrobot (Spain) develops a harvesting robot
Agrobot is a company based in Spain that develops “strawberry harvesting robots”. Using a sensor at the tip of the robot, it not only determines when to harvest strawberries based on their ripeness, but also automatically harvests the strawberries.
In-house crop management and hydroponic cultivation “Plenty (USA)”
Plenty is a company that specializes in hydroponic cultivation, and grows kale and lettuce in-house. By managing crop data and controlling the amount of water and minerals, it is possible to adjust the flavor. Another feature is that the amount of water required for cultivation is about 1/20 of that of regular outdoor cultivation, contributing to water conservation.

The future of agritech
The future of agritech, which is expanding its market size, is bright as a savior for domestic agriculture, which is facing concerns about accelerating decline in agriculture due to the aging population and lack of successors.
Efforts to utilize agritech are becoming more popular not only in Japan but also overseas, and it will not be long before we see fully automated robots doing farming in place of farmers. The industry is in a period of growth, so let’s keep an eye on future trends.

Summary
So far, we have introduced agritech. In Japan, it is often referred to as smart agriculture, and although it is a technology that is attracting a lot of attention around the world, I think that few people understand it accurately.
Through this article, let’s deepen our understanding of agritech and pay attention to trends in agritech that are likely to attract more and more attention in the future.

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July 2, 2024