Artificial Intelligence Technology in Japanese Agriculture

Abstract

Nowadays, Japan’s agriculture is facing a ton of serious issues which is rapid aging farming population, labor shortages, and declining of interest among youth in the regarding sector. In order to address these issues, Japan promote artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in their agricultural industry. Firstly, AI agriculture refers to the use of smart technologies such as drones, sensors, machine learning and robotics to monitor crops, harvest prediction, pests and diseases detection and others automatic farming tasks. This technology can help farmers to reduce their workload, provide more accurate decisions and further improve the quality and quantity of their harvests. For example, Japan’s farmer uses AI for crop monitoring and harvest prediction. Farmers will use drones that equipped with high-resolution and infrared cameras which can scan fields, assess plant health and even determine the best time for harvesting without any physical inspection. In the other hand, the affordable robotic harvesters are designed to pick fruits and vegetables with minimal human input. These robots equipped with camera and soft robotic hands for them to pick crops like strawberries and tomatoes without any damages. Moreover, AI systems can also control temperature, humidity and lighting in a greenhouse automatically. These technologies grow crops throughout a year with minimal resource needed. In addition, precision agriculture that uses AI to apply the right amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides to specific areas can also help reduce waste and environmental impact. One of the biggest issues is the average age of farmers, many of them are unfamiliar with new technology and hesitant to change traditional farming methods. Besides that, the high cost of AI equipment is also a big issue because majorities of the small-scale farmers cannot afford the initial investment. Moreover, the lack of strong digital infrastructure in rural areas also limits the effectiveness of AI systems. It is because the AI rely on fast internet connections and cloud computing. To overcome these issues, Japanese government plans to offer training programs, financial support and providing better internet infrastructure for rural communities. Although it is difficult to widespread adoption, but Japan government is creating a strong foundation for future growth of AI technologies. This approach not only benefits Japan but also play as a role model for other countries like Malaysia, which plan to collaborate with Japan in AI agricultural development.