Perfect storm of population growth and climate change spurs farming innovation
TADANORI YOSHIDA, Nikkei senior staff writer
Japanese agtech venture Spread can ship 21,000 heads of
lettuce from its Kyoto factory per day. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
Consider it a wake-up call from nature. Asian crops were
devastated by a severe drought this year, highlighting the urgent need to
stabilize farm output and brace for the consequences of climate change. And
with the region's population projected to continue growing over the long term,
this is no easy task.
The good news is that answers are starting to emerge.
Agribusinesses are harnessing information technology. Organic farms and
so-called plant factories are becoming hothouses for innovation. International
investors are keen to water the seeds.
This week, we head out into the fields -- and some
cutting-edge facilities -- to glimpse the future of Asian farming.
TOKYO Even the most technologically advanced
indoor farm starts with a very basic problem. When you take sunlight out of the
equation you gain more control, but you also lose a whole lot of free energy.
The bankruptcy of a Japanese farming venture in 2015
highlighted this dilemma. The factory had been touted in the media as the
future of farming. Partly due to power costs, however, its break-even price was
simply too high compared with conventional farms.
Still, the bankruptcy does not mean the hype was baseless.
Under new ownership, the factory is becoming a viable business by finding
buyers who are willing to pay a premium for high-quality produce. Similar
indoor farming ventures are adding value by growing vegetables rich in specific
nutrients.
And then there is Spread, which is taking a different
approach. It wants to win in the mass market -- in supermarkets -- and that
means competing against veggies grown in the field.
Spread's secret? Volume. The company packs a lot of lettuce
into its 3,000-sq.-meter factory in western Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. The
heads grow on rows upon rows of shelves under fluorescent lights. The factory
has the capacity to ship 21,000 of them per day -- enough to make the lettuce
profitable even if it sells for 198 yen ($1.79). The average price in Tokyo as
of November was 251 yen, according to Numbeo, which tracks the cost of living
in big cities.
Spread's
lettuce factory in Kyoto (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)
The facility, which started operating in 2008, was stuck in
the red for the first five years. But efficiency improvements lifted it into
the black in the year ended March 2014. Shinji Inada, Spread's CEO, explained
that putting the hardware in place is only half the battle. "It is up to
the staff to adapt to the environment," he said. "Once the business
becomes profitable, profit is generally stable."
Just because the lettuce grows indoors does not mean the
weather is a complete nonfactor. Air conditioning must be set up to keep the
temperature steady for all four seasons. Even then, there are changes in
humidity. So it takes time to determine how to manage all the variables,
including the light and carbon dioxide essential for photosynthesis.
Read more at Nikkei Asia Review
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