Plant Factory Business is limited ①

On the other day, I looked into "agri business Japan" which was held at Tokyo International Exhibition Center. Approximately 160 offices in Japan and overseas are exhibited. The exhibits of agricultural workers were surprisingly small, and many of them were exhibited in home appliances, materials, plant manufacturers and facility horticulture. Most of the plants produced there are leafy vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries. Cultivation technology is seen as a trace of constantly evolving, but the biggest challenge is still profitability of the producer side.

It is very limited to be established as a business. The present day of the plant factory, only the leaf things such as lettuce were attached to the eye in the planner piled up in layers here and there in the hall.　 Is it possible to do business of plant factories that produce food ingredients outside of these natural and ecological systems? What is a plant factory in the first place? The type of plant factory, there are two types of fully artificial light type using LED light source without sunlight (including led combination) and the solar light type broadly divided. The solar type is basically used for solar light in a semi-closed environment of greenhouse type. It is possible to plan production throughout the year by the supplementary light at the time of rain and cloudy, the high temperature suppression in the summer, etc., in addition to the leaves such as lettuce and spinach, fruit vegetables centered on tomatoes, strawberries, etc. are also suitable for cultivation features. In addition, the cultivation area is easy to be cultivated in the plane (one side), it is possible to adjust the proper yield amount. On the other hand, the fully artificial light type which does not use the solar light is a production method of planning production in a closed environment. The production of lettuce, spinach, etc. are mainly made of leafy products (fruits and vegetables are very limited). It is possible to secure the cultivation area by multi-stage cultivation, a lot of harvest is expected, it is close to the large consumption area (low distribution cost) is characterized by high installation suitability around the urban area.