Macnica and Takamiya begin collaboration to create a new form of agriculture that transcends industry boundaries ~ Co-creation project at Takamiya Agribusiness Park to promote the development and implementation of controlled environment agriculture technology and the construction of an agri-platform ~

Macnica (headquarters: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Hara; hereinafter "Macnica") and Takamiya Corporation (headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Takamiya Kazumasa; hereinafter "Takamiya") announced today that they have agreed to enter into a business alliance in the agricultural sector and will begin collaborating to co-create sustainable agriculture for the next generation.

(From left) Hiroyuki Okamoto, General Manager of the Agricultural Business Division at Takamiya Corporation;
Koji Senga Company President Macnica TecStar Company Inc.

As the world population increases and it is expected that it will become difficult to procure sufficient amounts of food, problems such as shortages of resources necessary for food production, such as water and land, and a decrease and aging agricultural workforce are becoming apparent. Furthermore, abnormal weather and natural disasters caused by global warming are compounding the problem, making it difficult to maintain the production base.

To realize sustainable agriculture that solves these issues, Macnica wants to use advanced technology to connect the memories of food and agriculture to the future, while Takamiya wants to strengthen Japanese agriculture. Their shared vision led to the two companies collaborating.

In its food and agritech business, Macnica is working to implement plant factories that preserve and pass on Japan's food culture. In addition, the company has established the Food Agri Tech Incubation Base, an open innovation hub, and is promoting the development of controlled-environment agriculture services that will enable highly reproducible agriculture.

Takamiya has established the TAKAMIYA AGRIBUSINESS PARK as a comprehensive agricultural park where you can learn everything about agriculture. Partner companies and university research institutes from various industries will come together to develop new technologies and products, provide a training farm as an agricultural preparatory school, and conduct diversity management, and to establish agriculture from every perspective.
In the future, next-generation plant factory containers will be introduced at Takamiya Agribusiness Park, and Takamiya will be responsible for operating and disseminating information about the park. Macnica will also cooperate with Takamiya Agribusiness Park in developing and implementing technology for environmentally controlled agriculture that utilizes CPS (cyber-physical systems), and will work with partner companies participating in Takamiya Agribusiness Park to promote the construction of an agri-platform.

By linking and coordinating their respective ecosystems and developing together, Macnica and Takamiya aim to establish the image of agriculture as "cool, inspiring, and profitable," and to fundamentally solve agricultural issues.

Commenting on the announcement, Macnica TecStar Company President Koji Senga said:
We hope that this co-creation with Takamiya will enable us to make great strides in implementing Services & Solutions utilize Macnica 's cutting-edge technologies, towards the realization of a sustainable society in which children of the future can live in peace.
Additionally, we plan to actively expand overseas by leveraging the global footprint of both companies, and capture robust overseas demand by offering a package of Japanese agricultural products and agritech solutions.

Hiroyuki Okamoto, General Manager of Takamiya's Agricultural Division, said:
This collaboration with Macnica will greatly accelerate our agribusiness ambitions, which are to "strengthen Japanese agriculture" and "bring Japanese quality agriculture to the world." We will position Takamiya Agribusiness Park as a laboratory for the combination of the resources of both the Company, and we hope to continue to bring "surprise and excitement" to agriculture around the world.
Our two companies will remain at the center of global agriculture, and we will work to become a platform in which many different people and companies can participate.

The companies will also exhibit jointly at J AGRI (formerly Agriculture WEEK), which will be held at Grand Messe Kumamoto from May 22nd to 24th, 2024, and will introduce their respective visions and initiatives for creating sustainable agriculture.

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*The information published in the news release (including product price, specifications, etc.) is current as of the date of announcement. Please note that the information may be subject to change without prior notice.