The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), NTT East, and NTT agri technology will develop a data-driven “remote farming support project” nationwide.
Knowledge of NARO experts and agricultural data linkage platform (WAGRI)
In this project, images and environmental data of producers’ farms and crops are shared in real time with remote experts, and based on data such as farm soil, weather, growth information, and work history, NARO’s standard operating procedures are being developed. Provide support and guidance in line with the guidelines through two-way communication.

遠隔営農支援のデモ（Demonstration of remote farming support）

NARO, NTT East Japan, and NTT Agritechnology will work on remote farming support for onion production at Mirai Co-creation Farm Akita (Ogata Village) as the first demonstration site.
Toru Wakui, CEO of Mirai Co-creation Farm Akita, said, “When manufacturing in a factory where the environment can be controlled, by following the manual, we can produce the same quality regardless of who makes it. On the other hand, it is not possible to harvest the same number of crops of the same quality by simply following the manual for outdoor cultivation, where the environment cannot be controlled.Even beginners can achieve the same precision as veterans. It is necessary to improve the environment so that it can be raised,” he said.
Open-field cultivation has a high degree of difficulty in constructing an ICT environment. This is because networks and sensors that can cover farms that are wide and difficult to secure a power source are required, and the difference in growth and disease caused by weather, land and soil conditions is large.
On the other hand, if they can introduce cultivation techniques that utilize data, a significant improvement in productivity can be expected.

Naoki Shibutani, president of NTT East, said, “We want to provide solid support in terms of digital and communication. We will build a system that can be used according to regional characteristics while protecting agricultural data with edge computing.”

It is said that by 2030, the number of people engaged in agriculture in Japan will decrease to about one-third of the number in 2020. There is a growing sense of crisis among those involved in agriculture that it will become difficult to provide a stable supply of food to the people.
Mr. Wakui said, “We would like to work on revitalizing Japanese agriculture and securing a stable food supply through this project.”
“Through data-driven agriculture, we would like to support the creation of a system that allows young people and other inexperienced producers to work an active role,” said Mr.Shibutani.