COVER STORY

A worker plants seedlings in Granpas

dome-shaped plant factory in
Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture. The
seedlings rotate once each day and
gradually move outwards. After
about 30 days they reach the outside
and are ready for harvest.

Growing the
Business of

AIZAWA TADASHI

Agriculture

10

The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

Vigorous efforts around the country to strengthen links among the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries industries, commerce industry and manufacturing industry are yielding new products and
services, and revitalizing local areas. The Japan Journal reports.

AIZAWA TADASHI

he first sight which greets

visitors entering the snowwhite, dome-shaped structure is a mass of brightly
verdant foliage. It is leaf lettuce growing atop a circular cistern about twenty
meters in diameter.
If you just had a place to do it,
you could set up a dome-shaped plant
factory in central Tokyo and have a
restaurant offering customers all the
vegetables they could eat, says Abe
Takaaki, president of Granpa Co.
Using Japanese technology, you could
also reinvigorate agriculture.
Granpa began hydroponic cultivation of vegetables in 2006 using highperformance vinyl greenhouses located in the city of Hadano, Kanagawa
Prefecture, about an hour and a half by
train from central Tokyo. The highperformance vinyl houses enabled
Granpa to produce high-quality vegetables consistently, but it was very difficult to make the business profitable. The
major reasons were the high startup
costs and the inability of the company to

be profitable enough to cover operating

expenses. Conventional rectangular
high-performance vinyl greenhouses
have to be large enough to accommodate
the expected size of the vegetables at
shipment time. But the vegetables are
small when newly planted, giving rise to
a lot of wasted space. At least once before harvesting, staff also had to laboriously transplant the vegetables one by
one into pots spaced wide enough apart
to allow them room to grow.
Wondering if there wasnt a good
way to improve productivity, Abe hit on
the idea of a dome-shaped plant factory.
He got the idea from Tokyo Dome in the
center of Tokyo. The roof of the domeshaped baseball stadium is supported by
air pressure.
The stadium is round, and my
guess was that the designers almost certainly sought for an efficient way to use
energy or accommodate a big crowd,
says Abe. Then it occurred to me that
the shape might be good for a greenhouse too.
The major features of the dome-

shaped plant factory developed by

Granpa are efficient use of space and
automation. First, seedlings are planted
in pots in the innermost area of the circular tank. The pots holding the seedlings make one round each day automatically on circular rails. The system is
designed so that, with each round, the
pots move outward and gradually away
from the center. The space accorded
each plant is increased as it moves toward the perimeter, eliminating the need
for transplanting. After about thirty
days, the plants reach the outer edge,
where they can be harvested. About 450
plants of about 100 grams each can be
harvested daily from a single domeshaped plant factory.
The membrane of the dome is fluororesin and is supported by air pressure.
The temperature and pH of the water in
the tank and the concentration of fertilizer are all controlled by computer.
Heating and cooling are accomplished
through the use of groundwater. Wasps
and a type of mayfly which eat insects
harmful to the vegetables are released
inside the greenhouse, so
pesticides are unnecessary. In
the case of conventional highperformance vinyl greenhouses, the steel frame causes
shade over about 17% of the
internal area. In dome-shaped
plant factories, however,
shade covers only about 2%
of the area. Since incoming
sunlight is reflected back into
the structure, the inside is
flooded with even more light
than the volume of light captured. As a result, productivity is twice that of conventional greenhouses, and energy

Granpa Co. President Abe

Takaaki with leaf lettuce grown
in one of the companys highperformance vinyl greenhouses.
The lettuce requires no washing
before serving.
The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

11

COVER STORY
consumption is cut by about 40%. The
resulting produce is sold to convenience
stores and supermarkets.
Traditional agriculture is heavily
influenced by the natural environment,
says Abe. Consumers are also increasingly concerned about food safety. Our
plant factory can help address these issues. They can also be used by somebody having no experience in agriculture. They make farming like operating
a company.
Granpas plant factories are the first
in the world to use such a system. Its
therefore no surprise that inquiries and
observers have been pouring in from
elsewhere in Japan and the rest of the
world too. Having patented its plant factory, Granpa is now moving to export
them overseas. Two are scheduled to be
built in China before the end of the year.
Inquiries have also come in from Middle
Eastern countries like Qatar and Oman.
To help in the recovery of Iwate
Prefecture city in Rikuzentakata, which
suffered damage in the Great East Japan
Earthquake, Granpa built eight of its
plant factories there with government
support. Ongoing research aims to further cut operating cost and improve productivity through the use of ground
water and solar heat.
The world might have to face food
shortages owing to rising population
and global warming, says Abe. I hope
to make farming into an attractive industry so a lot more young people will
try it. If that were to happen, thered be
even further technological innovations.
In that sense, Japan can play a big role
in global agriculture.
Applying Manufacturing
Technology and Commercial
Know-how to Farming

In recent years, the national and local

governments in Japan have teamed up
with business firms in the agriculture,
forestry and fisheries industries to build
links among the agriculture, commerce
and manufacturing industries. The idea
is promote agriculture and invigorate regional economies by applying manufacturing technology and commercial
know-how to farming.
Agriculture is an important industry
in Japans local regions. Promoting
12

The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

agriculture would therefore help revitalize the countryside. However, Japanese

agriculture faces a variety of problems.
One of these is the advancing age of
farmers. Data from the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
shows that elderly farmers (sixty-five
and older) accounted for about 34% of
the farming population in 2011.
Moreover, the farming population itself
fell from 3.9 million in 2000 to about
2.6 million in 2010. Imports of lowpriced agricultural products from abroad
have accelerated the decline in the number of farms. The area of unused farmland increased about three-fold between
1985 and 2005 to about 380 hectares.
Total agricultural output stood at 11.7
trillion yen in 1984 but had fallen to 8.2
trillion yen by 2007.
In order to address this situation, efforts are underway to build links among
agriculture, commerce and manufacturing and thereby encourage new entrepreneurs to move into agriculture,
develop new processed goods in the
agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and raise productivity. One measure aims to popularize plant factories
like those of Granpa. Plant factories
have the advantage of being able to
produce agricultural products of uniform shape and quality in a stable and
highly productive fashion throughout
the year even in non-farm areas.
However, costs tend to be high. The
Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry is therefore providing financial
support to build plant factory research
facilities and equipment in order to promote technical development and experimentation regarding plant factories.
Plant factories are presently operating at about 120 locations in Japan, and
new technologies are being developed.
For example, the Aizufujikako
Company, in the Fukushima Prefecture
city of Aizu Wakamatsu, engages in
semiconductor assembly as its main
business. In 2010, however, the company began marketing leaf lettuce after
turning semiconductor assembly clean
rooms into 100% artificial-light plant
factories which require no natural sunlight. The leaf lettuce requires no pesticide or rinsing before serving. The
company has been able to produce leaf
lettuce in large volumes with no more

than 100 mg of potassium per 100

grams, a 25% reduction compared to
conventional lettuce. This is good news
for patients with kidney disease, who
must limit their daily intake of potassium within 1,500 to 2,000 mg.
Efforts are also underway to build a
legal framework supporting links among
agriculture, commerce and manufacturing. In 2008, a new law was created
known as the Act concerning the
Promotion of Business Activity through
Links between Small Entrepreneurs and
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery
Operators (known as the Agriculture,
Commerce and Manufacturing Linkage
Act). The purpose of the law is to establish symbiotic links between small entrepreneurs and businesses in the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries
and promote business activity which effectively leverages the managerial resources of these industries, thereby enhancing small enterprise management
and improving management in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Under this
law, the government certifies business
plans submitted by small operators and
agriculture, forestry and fishery operators endeavoring to link the agriculture,
commerce and manufacturing industries.
The government then provides support
in the form of subsidies, loans and tax
breaks to businesses implementing the
approved plans.
Thus far, about 500 business ventures of various types have been certified by the government under the Act.
An information technology company in
Tottori Prefecture linked up with a livestock farmer in Kagoshima Prefecture to
develop a system which can alert farmers by email whenever it detects cows
coming into estrus or showing behavioral signs of approaching calving time. In
the past, farmers had to sleep in the barn
when cows were about to calve, but the
new system enables them to check the
condition of the cows with their cell
phones or computers, which lightens the
burden on the farmers and contributes to
enhancing productivity and economies
of scale in the livestock industry.
In order to show people at home
and abroad how agriculture, commerce
and production can be linked, the government holds various events in different locations. Over the first two days of

equipment supporting the production

of the tastiest
Japanese agricultural products. (See
http://agri-frontier.
com/english/ for

more details.)
Michi no Eki

tions can be divided broadly into private

groups, local governments, and a combination of these (the third sector). They
are found in a variety of locations, such
as along ordinary roads, at train stations
or by highways. In order to highlight the
unique character of the locality, the respective road side stations try to sell
local specialty products from the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries
or processed goods made from such
local materials.
One road side station that has
achieved considerable success is Michi
no Eki Tomiura Biwa Kurabu (hereafter
Biwa Club), located in the town of
Tomiura in the Chiba Prefecture city of
Minami Boso. The city is about ninety
minutes by car from the center of Tokyo
at the very tip of the Boso Peninsula. It
enjoys a mild climate throughout the
year and is well known as a place where
visitors can swim, gather flowers, drive
and otherwise enjoy the rich natural environment. Registered as the first road
side station in 1993, Biwa Club was incorporated with capital provided by the
town of Tomiura, whose mayor became
president. (In 2006, the town of Tomiura
was amalgamated with six local governments and is now part of the city of
Minami Boso.)
A lot of people come here to swim
in the summer, says Suzuki Kenji of
Chiba Minami Boso Company, which
manages Biwa Club. But other than
that, there arent many tourist attractions, and the towns had to deal with
other major problems as people have
got older, the population has fallen and

SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI

SAKAMOTO MASATOSHI

Various efforts are

being made to promote agriculture
and link it with
commerce and manufacturing in order
to invigorate local
economies. One of
these is Michi no
Eki, or Road Side
Station. Road side
stations are roadside
facilities which
serve as rest stops
for travelers, as
information announcement venues
for travelers and
local residents, and
as links which tie
together different
towns in the surrounding region to
The road side station Biwa Club in Tomiura, Minami Boso,
stimulate vitality.
Chiba Prefecture. The rest stop is a hub for industry,
culture and information.
Local governments
wishing to set up a
December, for example, the Ministry of road side station must first apply for
Economy, Trade and Industry and the registration with the Ministry of Land,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Fisheries jointly sponsored an event If the proposed road side
at Tokyo Big Sight called Farming station serves the above
Frontier 2012 under the banner of three purposes, it is forlinking producers and consumers, mally registered. It then
Japan and the world. Visitors could receives support from the
view and experience the cutting edge of national and local governJapanese agricultural technology. There ment. Some 103 road side
were cooking demonstrations with star stations were initially
European chefs preparing dishes using registered in 1993, and so
Japanese food materials, as well as ex- far 996 have been estabhibitions of agricultural technologies lished nationwide. The
being used to support recovery from the great majority have not
Great East Japan Earthquake. Visitors only restrooms and parkcould also sample sandwiches made ing lots but also shops,
with lettuce and tomatoes grown in the restaurants, cafs and
plant factory on show and bread made other facilities.
with Japanese bread-making technoloThe organizations
Biwa Club staff hold products made from locally
grown loquats.
gy. Also on display was agricultural managing road side staThe Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

13

In Ethiopia, villagers learn how to make honey as part of the JICA-sponsored

OVOP project.

the agriculture and fishing industries

have declined. So using the local resources we had, we set up a road side
station to serve as a hub for industry,
culture and information.
The biwa in Biwa Club is taken
from the biwa fruit, or loquat
(Eriobotrya japonica), a local specialty
of Minami Boso. The aim of Chiba
Minami Boso (called Tomiura
Company at its opening) is to develop
products using the loquat. The fruit is
easily bruised, and although fine in taste
and quality, about a third of the crop
formerly had to be discarded because it
couldnt be shipped to market. Chiba
Minami Boso therefore sought to develop a variety of products using the loquats that would otherwise go to waste.
The result was about thirty different
products, including curry with loquat
pure, loquat jam, and loquat juice. Two
products especially popular among tourists are loquat gelatin and loquat soft
cream. About 80,000 jars of loquat soft
cream are now sold each year.
Shortly after Biwa Club started
business, Hana Club opened at a location about ten minutes away by car. In
addition to flowers such as carnations,
lilies and poppies, Hana Club grows
fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes,
strawberries and melons which tourists,
for a fee, can pick themselves.
Chiba Minami Boso attracts tour14

The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

Biwa Club has many visitors from

overseas as well. Efforts are also
underway to share Biwa Clubs knowhow with developing countries. One
such effort is assistance for road side
stations in Vietnam. With support from
the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the
Binh An Road Side Station was established by a private company along a
national highway in Quang Nam
Province in central Vietnam. When the
facility was established, an advisor
from Biwa Club shared know-how
regarding management of road side
stations. Meanwhile, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) in 2011 began providing assistance to further stimulate the business
of the Binh An Road Side Station, and
representatives of Biwa Road Side
Stand provide further assistance to their
Vietnamese counterparts.
But its not enough just to sell
conventional agricultural products at
road side stations, cautions Suzuki.
You have to sell something out of the
ordinary, like pesticide-free or organically grown vegetables raised by local
farmers, for example. That creates a
brand image for both the road side
station and the products themselves. Its
the same in Japan, and we want to show
the operators of road side stations in
Vietnam how they can enhance the
added value of products through links
among different regions.

ists in other ways. It also designs and

markets tours around Minami Boso
for sightseeing companies so tourists
can visit other local restaurants
and nurseries.
In our product development and
marketing, we take care to avoid overlap
between the products sold in local
shops, says Suzuki. Were also careful
to share our know-how and profit with
the local community.
Biwa Club also serves as a cultural center for the community. The
Biwa Club gallery displays works by
local artists,
and a variety
of events are
held in the
multipurpose
hall, including
puppet shows
and concerts.
Initially,
about 200,000
people visited
Biwa Club each
year, but now
the facility
welcomes about
600,000 visitors
each year, even
though the
p o p ulation of
Ethiopian government representatives join business group
Tomiura is only
members for an exchange of views on their products at the
about 5,700.
OVOP projects Annual Review Meeting.

COURTESY OF JICA

COURTESY OF JICA

COVER STORY

The Japan
International
In addition to road side stations, yet an- C o o p e r a t i o n
other example of the way Japanese-style Agency (JICA) is
linkages among agriculture, commerce working to apply
and manufacturing are spreading t h e O V O P a p throughout developing countries is the proach in helping
One Village One Product (OVOP) to stimulate regionmovement. The approach got its start in a l e c o n o m i c a d Kyushus Oita Prefecture in the 1960s, vancement in deand by 1979, had grown into a major ef- veloping countries.
fort in all cities, towns and villages in JICA is providing
Oita Prefecture to promote the region. support for such
There are three concepts underlying programs in Asian
OVOP. The first is Think globally, act countries, including
Pots of mango jam (center), made by a group taking part in
locally. This means building a national China, Thailand,
the Ethiopian OVOP project, on sale in a local supermarket
and global appeal by highlighting local M a l a y s i a , L a o s
culture and ambience. The second con- and Kyrgyzstan,
cept is self-reliance creativity and imagi- i n the Latin American country of cooperatives by government agencies,
native creativity. Local residents them- Columbia, and in African countries district governments, companies, research institutes and other partners.
selves decide what their OVOP products such as Malawi and Kenya.
Its a considerable benefit for
One African nation where JICA is
will be, and through repeated brainstorming, make it as appealing as possi- supporting the OVOP approach is members to form groups/cooperatives
ble. The third idea is human resource Ethiopia. The One Village One Product a n d e n g a g e i n b u s i n e s s , s a y s
development. The goal of the OVOP Promotion project was launched Nakayama. But group/cooperative
movement is to nurture local leaders who from 2010 in the Southern Nations, members have little experience in busiare ready for any challenge and able to Nationalities, and Peoples Region ness, so local NGOs provide a five-day
business management seminar teaching
help the community become highly cre- (SNNPR) in the south of the country.
T h e them how to draft a business plan or
SNNPR region calculate costs.
One distinct feature of the Ethiopian
is a very verd a n t a r e a , OVOP program is matching groups/cosays Nakayama operatives with potential buyers. The coK a n a k o o f operative engaged in making paper from
JICAs Private banana stems was provided with paperS e c t o r making technology by an entrepreneur in
D e v e l o p m e n t the capital of Addis Ababa, and in some
Group. A va- shops, cooperative members are selling
riety of agri- tourists products like photograph stands
cultural prod- made from this paper. In other successes
u c t s c a n b e gradually being achieved, mango jam is
h a r v e s t e d i n now sold in supermarkets and datta is
different areas, being supplied to hotel restaurants.
Encouraged by the groups/cooperso its possible
to make prod- atives that have succeeded, other local
ucts unique to people have started to put more land
Among the fourteen groups/cooperatives involved in the
under cultivation and formed their own
each area.
Ethiopian OVOP project is this bamboo furniture-making group.
The project groups/cooperatives, Nakayama says.
is supporting We have plans to support the activities
ative. Based on these ideals, the goal of fourteen rural farmer groups/cooperatives of an additional thirty-five groups/coopthe OVOP movement is for each city, (of about ten to twenty people) in five eratives. Besides lifting community
town and village to harness its own local woredas (districts) within the region. A pride and energizing the region, the
resources, develop local specialty prod- variety of products are made by the re- activities of these groups/cooperatives
ucts and thereby revitalize its communi- spective groups/cooperatives, including are sure to encourage people in many
ties. Thanks to the OVOP movement, furniture from bamboo, paper from ba- other areas to act on their own to further
Oita Prefecture produce now sold nation- nana stems, mango jam, honey and datta boost the vitality of the region.
wide includes mandarin oranges, kabosu, (chili pepper paste). Technical and marketing support is provided to the groups/ SAWAJI Osamu, The Japan Journal
shiitake mushrooms and barley shochu.

COURTESY OF JICA

The Japan Journal NOVEMBER 2012

15

COURTESY OF JICA

One Village, One Product