Agriculture– tag –

The big picture of the challenges apple farming now faces. Apples are a familiar sight at the table, but their cultivation sites face a stack of overlapping structural problems: a shrinking farming workforce, changing growing conditions, labor concentrated in the harvest season, and ever-rising costs. It's not any one cause alone, but several...

「九州 農業WEEK（J-AGRI KYUSHU）」は、グランメッセ熊本で開かれる西日本最大級の農業総合展です。スマート農業の機材から資材・畜産・脱炭素・経営支援まで、農業経営に関わる製品とサービスが集まり、九州はもちろん四国・中国地方の生産者や産地の担...

Kyoto vegetables, which color Kyoto's food culture. Do you dismiss the reason their prices are on the higher side as simply "because it's Kyoto"? In fact, behind Kyoto vegetables' high cost lie a long history and tradition, a unique growing environment, and producers' ceaseless efforts. This article covers why Kyoto vegetables are high...

The April 2026 issue of the monthly "Vegetable Information," published by the Agriculture & Livestock Industries Corporation (ALIC), carried a feature article on the vegetable freshness-preservation technology developed by ZEROCO Inc. The corporation is a public institution that surveys and publishes vegetable supply-demand and price trends, and being featured in its specialist journal shows industry attention on ZEROCO's technology...

In 2026, the world's food-waste cost is projected to reach 540 billion dollars. This is up from 526 billion dollars the previous year, and if this continues, cumulative losses for 2025–2030 will reach 3.4 trillion dollars. This figure, reported by New Food Magazine based on expert analysis, relates to the UN SDGs' Goal 12...

On March 31, 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries published the April growth conditions and price outlook for vegetables destined for the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. With rainfall and rising temperatures since late February, the growth of many leafy vegetables has recovered, and cabbage and lettuce are expected to see supply slightly above average and prices fall year-on-year. On the other hand, last summer's...

On March 30, 2026, JA Kumamoto Keizairen (Kumamoto Prefecture Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives) started crowdfunding on Makuake for "Tomoru Oyasai," which regenerates blemished vegetables (tomato, eggplant) that can't be shipped or eaten into poster lights with washi shades. The JA Keizairen originally...

The vegetable-intake target set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 350g per day. But the average intake among those in their 20s remains at about 256g, a reality about 100g short of the target. From March 2, 2026, recruitment began for the 2nd "Vegetable-Shortage Solution Idea Contest 2026 for Those in Their 20s," launching a new effort to increase vegetable intake among the young...

In June 2025, the Ministry of the Environment published FY2023 (fiscal 2023) food loss generation. The total was about 4.64 million tons, down 80,000 tons from the previous fiscal year (4.72 million tons), setting a new record low since estimation began. Business-related was about 2.31 million tons and household-related about 2.33 million tons, with business-related falling below household-related for the first time. Reduc...

In October 2025, Green Ace Co., Ltd. officially launched the upcycled food brand "upvege." Using its proprietary powdering technology, it transforms "unused vegetables"—those that didn't reach the market because their shape or size didn't meet standards—into high-value-added products with their color, aroma, and nutrition intact...

The FY2023 (fiscal 2023) food loss estimate published by the Ministry of the Environment was 4.64 million tons, a new record low since statistics began. But what deserves attention beyond the figure is the change in the breakdown. Business-related (companies, restaurants, etc.) food loss was 2.31 million tons, falling below household-related (2.33 million tons) for the first time...

We Were Featured on MAFF's "Nippon Food Shift" Suste-Nabe Page

The vegetable-intake target set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 350g per day. But according to the latest National Health and Nutrition Survey, the average intake among Japanese people remains at about 280g, continuing to hover at about 80% of the target. How to fill this "70g wall" has become a new theme for the food industry. Across all age groups...

The global freeze-dried vegetable market is rapidly growing. The 2026 market size will reach about 9 billion dollars, and the vegetable segment in particular shows high growth at a CAGR of 8.7%. The attention on dried vegetables, which achieve both health-consciousness and convenience, supports this growth. Why freeze-dried vegetables are growing...

農業Week2026（J AGRI）は、農業・畜産分野に特化した国内最大級の総合展示会です。2026年は秋の東京（幕張）展、2027年は春の九州（熊本）展が予定されており、農業WEEK全体は「スマート農業」「農業資材」「畜産資材」「畜産予防・衛生」「脱炭素・SDGs...

About Buddy’s Farm. Buddy’s Farm (Odawara City, Kanagawa) is an agricultural corporation known for growing somewhat rare mini tomatoes. About six years since founding, it has shipped to local direct sales and restaurants while committing to varieties with thin skins and strong individual flavor. Making use of that know-how, last year...

A dried vegetable series using Phytorich. We produced dried vegetables using vegetables from the Phytorich series developed by Takii & Company, Limited, known for its “vegetables with a good reason.” From that series, we used “Kyo-kurenai carrot,” “Orange carrot,” and “Healthy oku...

Our work with Sakura Renkon. Sakura Renkon (Sakura City, Chiba) is an agricultural corporation specializing in growing and selling lotus root. After working in Tokyo, representative Yuma Matsumoto took up farming, and after training, regenerated an abandoned black-soil paddy field. Using only organic fertilizer and no chemical fertilizer, the soil...

Producing dried tomato in a collaboration with Beppin Farm. In a collaboration with Beppin Farm, operated by Kubota Corporation, we produced dried tomato using tomatoes grown at Kubota Farm, operated within the Kubota Group, for the company’s internal use...

A flavored tea using dried Kujo green onion wins a Japanese Tea Award. Aida LLC provides experiences of time and space by making use of diverse cultures—food, art, aroma, music, and more—centered on the tea ceremony and Japanese tea. At the company’s shop located in Minami-ku, Kyoto City, “a Japanese tea space to enjoy time”...

Commercializing an attention-grabbing fruit tomato from Kyotango. We received the “yarisugi tomato”—grown in Kumihama, Kyotango, in an environment so harsh it is called an “athlete vegetable,” with sweetness and tartness packed densely—from Wada Farm and made it into a product. High-sugar tomatoes are hard to dry...

A project toward establishing radish as a regional specialty. This is a project started as a means of regional revitalization, initiated by Mr. Nomura, who grows radishes in the Kyotamba area of Kyoto. Agriture CEO Kojima supported the web system construction and the back end including SNS...

Yasai Yakuzen, balancing the body with vegetables. Together with YAKUZEN TOKYO Co., Ltd., we launched the “Yasai Yakuzen” service—a way of eating that balances the body from within using “familiar vegetables” available at supermarkets. Even the vegetables we casually eat, when appropriately chosen and appropriately cooked from a yakuzen perspective...

The Tohoku region, with its dramatic seasonal changes, retains many locally distinctive heirloom vegetables. Landrace varieties rooted in the climate and terroir are food materials and, at the same time, a resource that carries the region's cultivation techniques and food culture to the present. On the other hand, with diversifying diets and a shortage of successors, cultivation is declining...