{"id":3030,"date":"2026-04-13T11:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/?post_type=industry_news&#038;p=3030"},"modified":"2026-08-01T16:52:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T07:52:37","slug":"mirai-saien-tenryo-ai-pest","status":"publish","type":"industry_news","link":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/industry_news\/mirai-saien-tenryo-ai-pest\/","title":{"rendered":"Preventing Crops' \"Field Food Loss\" with AI\u2014Mirai Saien's TENRYO Achieves a 90% Reduction in Work and a 15% Yield Increase at JA Toyohashi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2026, the AI pest-and-disease prediction app \"TENRYO,\" developed by the University of Tsukuba-originated agritech startup Mirai Saien Inc. (Nagoya; CEO: Tomofumi Hatakeyama), is accelerating its penetration into agricultural sites. Against the \"field food loss\" in which roughly 25% of the world's crops are lost before harvest each year, it predicts risk one week ahead using AI trained on 20 years of weather and pest-and-disease data, supporting farmers in taking preemptive action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is field food loss\u2014damage of 7 million tons a year, exceeding the general food loss of 4.6 million tons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When people hear \"food loss,\" attention tends to focus on disposal at the consumption stage, but what Mirai Saien raises as a problem is \"crops lost in the field before harvest.\" Worldwide, roughly a quarter of major crops are lost to pests and diseases before harvest, and within Japan alone, damage of<strong>roughly 7 million tons a year<\/strong>occurs, the company estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This exceeds the figure for general food loss at the consumption and distribution stages (about 4.6 million tons), yet social awareness of it is still low.<a href=\"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/industry_news\/kuradashi-foodloss-survey\/\">Rising prices and the logistics 2024 problem are increasing food loss<\/a>Considered together with this current situation, the importance of grasping and addressing the loss structure across the entire agricultural supply chain comes into view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Type of food loss<\/th><th>Estimated scale in Japan<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>General food loss (consumption and distribution stages)<\/td><td>About 4.6 million tons\/year<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Field food loss (pre-harvest loss due to pests and diseases)<\/td><td><strong>About 7 million tons\/year<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How TENRYO works\u2014AI trained on 20 years of weather data \u00d7 pest-and-disease occurrence history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TENRYO is a smartphone app that uses machine learning to analyze 20 years of past weather data and pest-and-disease occurrence history, takes recent weather data as input, scores the \"pest-and-disease occurrence risk one week ahead,\" and notifies farmers. Six patents have already been obtained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The supported crops have expanded to 23 items, covering major items such as cabbage, broccoli, onion, paddy rice, and citrus. Its track record of adoption has spread to JAs and agricultural corporations in Aichi, Ehime, Gunma, Hokkaido, and Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a notable case,<strong>JA Toyohashi<\/strong>had all farming advisors use TENRYO from 2025, fully switching over from the conventional on-site surveys using pheromone traps. As a result,<strong>survey work time was reduced by roughly 90%.<\/strong>was achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A field case that achieved a 15% yield increase<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the winter of 2023 to 2024, TENRYO issued \"black rot risk\" alerts three times at off-season timing. Farmers who took preemptive measures in response to this AI prediction held damage to nearly zero, and one young farmer succeeded in<strong>increasing yield by 15% over the previous year.<\/strong>in doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conventional pest-and-disease measures were mainly reactive, \"controlling only after confirming an outbreak.\" By visualizing occurrence risk one week ahead, farmers can simultaneously enjoy three benefits: (1) choosing the right timing for pesticide application, (2) reducing over-application, and (3) moving efficiently while watching the weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Points of contact with the SDGs and agricultural policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \"Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems\" promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sets a target of reducing pesticide use by 50% by 2050. A risk-prediction tool like TENRYO is a technology that connects directly to this target. It uses digital technology to support the realization of IPM (Integrated Pest Management), which uses pesticides only when necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also,<a href=\"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/industry_news\/asahikawa-substandard-ice\/\">The problem of out-of-spec agricultural produce<\/a>and pest-and-disease damage are closely related. If the occurrence of out-of-spec produce due to lesions and poor appearance can be suppressed by strengthening control in advance, food-loss reduction and stabilization of farmer income are achieved at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Agritech's next phase\u2014a shift to \"preventive agriculture\"<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mirai Saien case shows a shift in the direction of agricultural DX from \"recording and visualization\" to \"prediction and prevention.\" While sensor data and drone imaging have spread as tools for \"grasping the current situation,\" the field is evolving to a stage that \"predicts the state one week ahead and prompts behavioral change.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The figure of a 90% reduction at JA Toyohashi is striking as a labor-saving and cost-reduction effect as well. As the aging of the farming workforce and the shortage of successors grow more serious, the value proposition that \"AI keeps watching the field on your behalf\" will likely be valued even more going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As future challenges and prospects, attention will focus on (1) expanding the supported crops (currently 23 items to a wider variety), (2) continuous improvement of prediction accuracy and verification by third-party institutions, and (3) improving accessibility for small-scale and family-run farms (such as rolling out low-price plans).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The agriture editorial team's perspective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The angle of \"invisible food loss\" is a message that resonates with businesses, buyers, and policymakers at the intersection of agriculture and the food industry.<a href=\"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/industry_news\/stennas-food-match\/\">Initiatives to reduce loss at the consumption stage through waste-food matching<\/a>Placed side by side with these, the loss structure across the whole food system comes into fuller relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the figure of 7 million tons of field food loss becomes socially recognized, partnerships with agricultural insurance, agricultural mutual aid, and JA control services may also accelerate. We will keep watching the movements of Mirai Saien, which has both the technical backing of its University of Tsukuba origins and the actual adoption track record of JA Toyohashi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong><br>\u30fb<a href=\"https:\/\/prtimes.jp\/main\/html\/rd\/p\/000000013.000083617.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PRTimes \u2013 Tackling agriculture's invisible food loss with AI\u2014Mirai Saien Inc.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2026\u5e74\u3001\u7b51\u6ce2\u5927\u5b66\u767a\u30a2\u30b0\u30ea\u30c6\u30c3\u30af\u30b9\u30bf\u30fc\u30c8\u30a2\u30c3\u30d7\u300c\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30df\u30e9\u30a4\u83dc\u5712\u300d\uff08\u540d\u53e4\u5c4b\u5e02\u30fb\u4ee3\u8868\uff1a\u7560\u5c71\u53cb\u53f2\uff09\u304c\u958b\u767a\u3057\u305fA [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"swell_btn_cv_data":"","ssp_meta_description":"\u7b51\u6ce2\u5927\u5b66\u767a\u306e\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30df\u30e9\u30a4\u83dc\u5712\u304c\u958b\u767a\u3057\u305fAI\u75c5\u5bb3\u866b\u4e88\u6e2c\u30a2\u30d7\u30ea\u300cTENRYO\u300d\u304c\u3001JA\u8c4a\u6a4b\u3067\u4f5c\u696d9\u5272\u524a\u6e1b\u30fb\u53ce\u91cf15%\u5897\u3092\u5b9f\u73fe\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u53ce\u7a6b\u524d\u306b\u5931\u308f\u308c\u308b\u300c\u7551\u306e\u30d5\u30fc\u30c9\u30ed\u30b9\u300d\u3078\u306e\u5bfe\u7b56\u3068\u3057\u3066\u306e\u4f4d\u7f6e\u3065\u3051\u3092\u307e\u3068\u3081\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002","ssp_meta_keyword":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3030","industry_news","type-industry_news","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry_news\/3030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/industry_news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}