Macnica enters into capital and business alliance with NEXTAGE and plant factory DX for sales ~Joint development of a container-type plant factory that enables forced cultivation of wasabi without the need for specialized knowledge~

Macnica (Headquarters: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Hara; hereinafter Macnica), a total Services & Solutions provider in semiconductors, networks, cybersecurity, and AI/IoT, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a capital and business alliance with NEXTAGE Inc. (Headquarters: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President and Board Director: Nakamura Takuya; hereinafter NEXTAGE), an agritech venture developing automated wasabi cultivation solutions under the motto of "Bringing ALL JAPAN MADE plant cultivation technology to the world." Through this alliance, the two companies will contribute to the realization of a sustainable and stable food supply through the joint development of container-type plant factories.

In recent years, the number of people working in agriculture has been declining due to factors such as a shrinking productive population due to the declining birthrate and aging population, and concerns about the profitability of agriculture. Furthermore, climate change, such as typhoons and sunshine, has a major impact on yields, making stable production difficult.
Under these circumstances, wasabi is cultivated only in some areas such as Shizuoka, Nagano, and Iwate prefectures, because in addition to traditional cultivation techniques, an environment such as an appropriate water temperature and clean water is important. As a result, it is difficult for newcomers to enter the market, and in recent years the production volume has decreased significantly.In 2005, wasabi production was 4,615 tons, but in 2020 it was 2,017 tons ^{* 1}. In addition, the impact of climate change has been strong, and wasabi fields in Shizuoka City were severely damaged by Typhoon No. 15 in September 2022. On the other hand, the demand for wasabi is increasing overseas due to the influence of the Japanese food boom, and local companies are also cultivating wasabi, and there are areas where it is traded at considerably higher prices than in Japan.

NEXTAGE has been developing a plant factory capable of stable production in an indoor closed environment in order to supplement the supply of wasabi, which is valuable in Japanese food culture and is in increasing demand overseas. In conventional plant factories for leafy vegetables such as lettuce, it was difficult to secure profitability without mass production and mass sales. It has come true.

Macnica provides Farmalize by macnica.ai ^{* 2} (hereinafter referred to as "Farmalize"), a service for plant factories that uses a combination of AI and sensing technologies to search for and manage recipes (cultivation plans). By appropriately combining various technologies, Farmalize acquires "environmental data" such as temperature and humidity, solar radiation, CO2 amount, and water temperature, and visualizes it with a web app. In addition, using image data acquired using a camera and an AI model, "growth data" such as plant leaf density, leaf color, and stem size is detected and compared with environmental data to create the optimal recipe (cultivation plan). ) can be analyzed, updated, and saved.

Macnica will now introduce a system provided by Farmalize to NEXTAGE's plant factory to support wasabi recipe (cultivation plan) search and cultivation management using AI and sensing. By sharing appropriate cultivation management with producers in real time, the specialized knowledge required to enter the plant factory business will be eliminated. In addition, growth data will enable analysis of crop taste and accelerated cultivation. Furthermore, by utilizing the sensing knowledge gained from supporting the agricultural DX of over 10 companies, the total cost including equipment will be optimized by combining AI/DX with high-precision sensors, automatic harvesting robots, LEDs for plant growth, etc.

[Wasabi mass production cycle that Macnica is aiming for]

[Container-type plant factory for wasabi]

Going forward, Macnica plans to complete a container-type wasabi plant factory equipped with the Company technology, including Farmalize, around the fall of 2023, and to begin sales as a general agent in Japan. By jointly developing this factory, we will improve the profitability of container-type plant factories, encourage new entrants, and contribute to the realization of a sustainable and stable food supply. In the future, we will also support the construction of a global supply chain to expand sales channels for crops with an eye on overseas market expansion, with the aim of stably supplying high-quality wasabi around the world.

(From left in the photo) Macnica TecStar Company Co., Ltd. Company Solution Business Promotion Office Shinichi Araki, New Business Headquarters Manager Shigenori Mori, TecStar Company President Koji Senga, NEXTAGE Co., Ltd. Representative Board Director Takuya Nakamura, Business Development Office Manager and Business Promotion Support Service Department Manager Mr. Asamori Sakuma

*1 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Statistical Survey on Production of Special Forest Products
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/tokei/kouhyou/tokuyo_rinsan/index.html

*2 Farmalize by Macnica
This is a service that supports searching for agricultural recipes (cultivation plans) and cultivation management in plant factories.
Click here for details: https://www.macnica.co.jp/business/ai/search/142179/

【本件に関するお問合せ先はこちら】
株式会社マクニカ　フード・アグリテック事業担当
Tel：045-470-9841
e-Mail：mac-agritech@macnica.co.jp

*Company names and product names mentioned in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macnica and each company.
*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.