Farmind Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and COO: Itaru Kobayashi; hereafter, “Farmind”), aims to increase food self-sufficiency by building an agricultural business model that can efficiently and sustainably produce high-quality fresh produce and revitalizing domestic agriculture.

　As part of this initiative, Fama-mura Strawberry Farm Corporation was established in August 2020. A large-scale farm of 2 hectares has been completed in Inashiki City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and a completion ceremony was held on Friday, April 18. We aim to expand by an additional 2.5 hectares, targeting a total of 4.5 hectares, making it the largest farm in Japan.

【Main Features of Inashiki Farm】

1. Facilities Pursuing Efficiency to Increase Production and Ensure Stable Supply

① Adoption of an Up-and-Down Operable Lifting System By lifting unused cultivation benches to create pathways and effectively utilizing facility space, the number of planted stocks can be increased by 1.8 to 2 times compared to conventional elevated bench cultivation. Additionally, the height of the cultivation benches can be freely adjusted, reducing the burden on workers and improving work efficiency.

② Integrating Control of the Growth Environment to Stabilize Production and Improve Quality By integrating and automatically managing all control devices that optimize the growth environment, such as shading and thermal insulation curtains, hot water heating, and nutrient solution irrigation systems, an environment suitable for strawberry growth is created. Furthermore, since it is managed on the cloud, remote operation is also possible. The accumulated data will be utilized in future cultivation.

2. Aiming for Environmentally Friendly Next-Generation Agriculture

① Energy-Saving Technology Using Localized Heating and Solar Heat Collection Panels Solar heat collection panels installed in the vacant space above large prefabricated refrigerators produce hot water using solar energy during the day. Additionally, by flowing hot water through pipes installed near the cultivation benches at night to locally heat only the area around the strawberries, greater energy savings can be expected compared to heating the entire room.

② Environmentally Friendly Circulating Nutrient Solution Cultivation Automatic irrigation with minimal waste suitable for strawberries is performed based on the cumulative solar radiation, which has a high correlation with the plant's water requirements. Furthermore, by sterilizing and reusing the drainage produced during irrigation, it is an environmentally friendly circulating nutrient solution cultivation that is expected to reduce fertilizer and water usage.

3. Farmind Group's Cold Chain Network to Preserve Quality

The harvested strawberries are pre-cooled in the on-site refrigerator, then loaded onto dedicated refrigerated trucks from a truck berth directly connected to the refrigerator, and transported to the Farmind Produce Center under temperature-controlled conditions. After being refrigerated and sorted at the produce center, they are delivered to each store by refrigerated truck.

4. Challenge of Reduced Pesticide Cultivation for Export

Strawberries for export are subject to stricter residual pesticide standards than those for domestic distribution, so reduced pesticide cultivation is conducted. Various mechanisms are incorporated to aim for a "house that does not bring in pests and diseases." A) Preventing entry from outside air: A pesticide-reduced ventilation system is introduced that allows only insect-proofed and sterilized outside air into the house after passing through an insect-proof net. B) Preventing entry from workers: When workers enter the house, they use an air shower and a sole disinfectant mat. C) Preventing entry from seedlings: Mites attached to seedlings are exterminated with liquefied carbon dioxide.

<Fama-mura Strawberry Farm Corporation Profile>

■ Company name: Fama-mura Strawberry Farm Corporation

■ Representative: Koji Kawashima

■ Establishment: August 4, 2020

■ Address: 1 Kanda Izumi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

■ Business: Production and sale of domestic vegetables and fruits, management of farmland, etc.

<Inquiries>

Corporate Planning Department, Farmind Corporation

TEL: +81-3-5835-1794