FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Agri Week 2022 is a comprehensive exhibition on agriculture, livestock, and horticulture. It is held twice a year in Kyushu and Kanto. Agricultural materials, smart agriculture products, livestock materials, and products related to industrialization are exhibited. Agriculture Week consists of the following four exhibitions: AGRI TECH (Material & Technology), AGRI NEXT (Next Generation), AGRI PROCESS (Farmer‘s Processing), LIVESTOCK (Livestock Supply & Equipment)
Source: Official HP
PSR Analysis: The drone market is seeing an increase in the number of new entrants. Currently, the market size is estimated to be around 300 billion yen, but some say it will grow to nearly 800 billion yen in five years. This is because the revision of the Civil Aeronautics Law to be implemented this December will lift the ban on Level 4 unassisted visual flights in manned areas. Until now this has been limited to Level 3 unmanned areas. Currently, the use of drones is mainly for spraying chemicals, but it is also being considered for logistics, inspections, civil engineering, and construction.
The shortage of labor due to the decrease in the number of farmers and the aging of the farming population has become a serious problem, and DX (digital transformation) is being promoted as a countermeasure. More and more exhibits such as equipment that determines the timing of harvest by image analysis and equipment that evaluates soil are being exhibited.
In the space next door, two exhibitions, Garden & Outdoor EXPO and Tool Japan, were held side by side, where hand tools such as chain saws and gardening equipment were on display. At the booths of Makita, HiKOKI, and others, production of engine-powered equipment has already been discontinued, and almost all products are now battery-powered. There was some concern that batteries are underpowered compared to engines, especially for high output products, but this will gradually be resolved as batteries evolve.
As for mobility, a concept model exhibited by Yamaha stood out. This is an EV mainly used in orchards to assist in harvesting.
Two LiDERs mounted on the left and right sides of the vehicle recognize the rows of fruiting trees on either side of the vehicle and perform the work. The vehicle travels slowly and automatically along the rows of trees. If the driving route is set in advance, the vehicle can move between rows of trees and turn around. When the vehicle is not working, it can disengage from automatic driving and be driven by a human driver. Headlights and indicator lights are also installed in anticipation of driving on public roads.
I feel that updating in the direction of reducing the burden of work performed by humans, rather than performing the entire harvesting process completely automatically, is the right course.
The major theme of Japanese agriculture is how to compensate for the labor shortage, and manufacturers are developing products to meet this demand. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research
