This study aims to clarify the Japanese characteristics of the spread of smart agriculture utilizing digital technology, which is expected to spread worldwide, and to provide policy implications for further dissemination of the technology. We conducted a questionnaire survey on actual conditions related to smart agriculture on Japanese farms. We have also proposed creation of a Smart Agricultural Kaizen Level (SAKL) technology map by applying the evaluation method used in management technology theory for the manufacturing industry. Using the results of the questionnaire survey and the proposed SAKL technology map, we analyzed the current pattern of expansion of smart agricultural technologies in Japan. Our results suggest that production efficiency in Japanese agriculture could be improved by raising the data visualization level and introducing smart agricultural technology. We also found that Japanese agriculture efficiency can be improved by introducing smart agricultural technology even if the data visualization level remains low. Smart agricultural technology automatically visualizes information and optimizes conditions without relying on the farmer's information literacy. At Japanese agriculture sites, the current smart agricultural technology introduction rate is less than 50%. To effectively disseminate smart agricultural technologies in the future, a policy should be implemented that promotes the development of a standardized package of smart agricultural technologies that can improve efficiency to some extent through default operation. With such a package, smart agriculture could be expanded without resorting to improving farmers' information literacy. Agricultural sites in Japan are thought to be currently engaged in developing such a standardized package of smart agricultural technologies.
Recent Society 5.0 efforts by the Government of Japan are aimed at establishing a sustainable human-centered society by combining new technologies such as sensor networks, edge computing, Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and robotics. Many...
Rice is a primary food for more than three billion people worldwide and cultivated on about 12% of the world’s arable land. However, more than 88% production is observed in Asian countries, including Pakistan. Due to higher population growth and...
The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze agricultural transition periods in order to provide a new framework for agricultural development in Iran. Considering the foreseeable future, an innovative or knowledge-based economy will substitute the obsolete economy. In...
Agricultural transformation is one of the important factors of rural planning and sustainable land management. There are natural and man-made reasons of this transformation, which brings both positive and negative impacts on the physical environment, food security, and human livelihoods....
There is great untapped potential for farm mechanization to support rural development initiatives in low- and middle-income countries. As technology transfer of large machinery from high-income countries was ineffective during the 1980s and 90s, mechanization options were developed appropriate to...