Joint release with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries “IT Agriculture Forum - Development of New Highly Profitable Agribusiness Created by IT-”

Japan's agriculture, along with being an industry involved in food, is also an important industry which supports local areas and is one of the promising industries for the future. However, agriculture is now facing severe conditions such as low profits, aging farmers and shortage of successors. Promotion of IT in the agricultural industry, in which IT has not yet been sufficiently introduced, will be a measure which may contribute to solving the various problems confronting the agriculture business.

This forum will focus on continuous development of agriculture and agribusiness by promotion of IT utilization, will introduce a policy related to agriculture and IT jointly by METI and MAFF, and will offer discussions by academic and business experts for the purpose of creating a future vision of IT utilization in the agriculture industry.

Date:

Thursday, May 15, 2012, 13:00-16:00

Venue:

Lecture Hall, Mita Kyoyo Kaigisho; 2-1-8 Mita, Minato-Ward, Tokyo

Organizers:

METI and MAFF

Participation fee:

Free of charge

Maximum number of participants:

About 300

*Entire program will be conducted in Japanese.

Keynote speech

• Sakae Shibusawa, Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

Introduction of policies:

• Concerning an integrated policy of agriculture and IT (METI)
• Concerning an approach to Agri-Informatics (AI) agriculture (MAFF)

Panel discussion

Coordinator:

Atsushi Shinjo, Associate Professor, Keio University

Panelists:

Yutaka Ohyama, Director, Sun Farm Ohyama;

Makoto Yoshida, Senior Adviser, External Affairs Planning Team, Global Strategy & Business Development Department, Mitsubishi Corporation;

Hideo Shimazu, Corporate Officer, NEC System Technologies; and

Hiroaki Fujimoto, Director-General for Fertilizer Business, Crop Protection Division, Sumitomo Chemical

May 1, 2012

• Information Service Industry Division, Officials of Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, METI
• New Business and Intellectual Property Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, MAFF