Strawberry Farming In Yamamoto-Cho Case Study
How do the leaders of the Japan businesses and who you have met engage innovative business models in a stagnant economic environment? What might you learn from this?
GRA and Strawberry Farming in Yamamoto-cho
With the vision of “10,000 people, 100 companies, in 10 years”, Hiroki Iwasa established General Reconstruction Association (GRA) to revive the town of Yamamoto-cho.
Yamamoto-cho, a small town lying on the coast of East Japan, is one of the areas heavily affected by the aging population. Before the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11th, 2011, over 31% of the population was residents over 65 years old (Takeuchi, 2012). Young residents tend to leave the town after high school to explore more opportunities outside. Agriculture, particularly …show more content…
For example, the soil temperature and humidity is carefully monitored and adjusted to ensure the best condition for strawberries and help reduce energy and cost.
GRA also utilizes the IPM technology in replacement of regular pesticides. This technology enabled pest control through methods of UV-B lighting, and management of natural predators.
In addition, automatic harvest robots and motion benches are also present to reduce human labor while maintaining excellent conditions for strawberries. Technologies like LED lighting was implemented to facilitate plant absorption and produce high quality strawberries. Nutrition for strawberries is circulated to reduce cost and damages to environment.
Combining the knowledge from experienced farmers and cutting-edge technologies, GRA is now developing methods to enable year-round strawberry farming. They aim to remove the seasonality currently limiting strawberry farming (GRA Inc, …show more content…
Combining technology and agriculture, Iwasa and his team is able to produce delicious and beautiful strawberries by controlling temperature, humidity and all other environmental factors. It is also the first farm to introduce radioactive testing to ensure food safety. Combining technology and agriculture, Iwasa successfully brought excitement and creativity to traditional farming. By transforming an industry that used to be considered old fashioned, dirty and boring into something that is innovative and creative, Iwasa was successfully able to revive the Yamamoto-cho, bringing back young
GRA and Strawberry Farming in Yamamoto-cho
With the vision of “10,000 people, 100 companies, in 10 years”, Hiroki Iwasa established General Reconstruction Association (GRA) to revive the town of Yamamoto-cho.
Yamamoto-cho, a small town lying on the coast of East Japan, is one of the areas heavily affected by the aging population. Before the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11th, 2011, over 31% of the population was residents over 65 years old (Takeuchi, 2012). Young residents tend to leave the town after high school to explore more opportunities outside. Agriculture, particularly …show more content…
For example, the soil temperature and humidity is carefully monitored and adjusted to ensure the best condition for strawberries and help reduce energy and cost.
GRA also utilizes the IPM technology in replacement of regular pesticides. This technology enabled pest control through methods of UV-B lighting, and management of natural predators.
In addition, automatic harvest robots and motion benches are also present to reduce human labor while maintaining excellent conditions for strawberries. Technologies like LED lighting was implemented to facilitate plant absorption and produce high quality strawberries. Nutrition for strawberries is circulated to reduce cost and damages to environment.
Combining the knowledge from experienced farmers and cutting-edge technologies, GRA is now developing methods to enable year-round strawberry farming. They aim to remove the seasonality currently limiting strawberry farming (GRA Inc, …show more content…
Combining technology and agriculture, Iwasa and his team is able to produce delicious and beautiful strawberries by controlling temperature, humidity and all other environmental factors. It is also the first farm to introduce radioactive testing to ensure food safety. Combining technology and agriculture, Iwasa successfully brought excitement and creativity to traditional farming. By transforming an industry that used to be considered old fashioned, dirty and boring into something that is innovative and creative, Iwasa was successfully able to revive the Yamamoto-cho, bringing back young