Japanese firm developing robot farmers

Kubota, Japan’s largest maker of agricultural machinery, has already developed its first prototype autonomous tractor for use in rice paddies. Equipped with a global positioning system, the vehicle cultivates fields and fertilises after checking soil conditions. Iseki & Co and Yanmar are also developing autonomous tractors and harvesters with Hitachi developing systems for farm machinery.

Kubota is also developing and marketing a suit-like device to help farmers harvest and carry fruit and vegetables. The ministry expects the robots, which can be put on like a backpack, to be able to help elderly and female farmers in field work that is difficult to be automated.

“Applying new technologies to farming will boost the appeal of agriculture to younger people and help increase their participation in the sector,” said Takaki Shigemoto, analyst at JSC, researcher in Tokyo.

The robots will do everything from re-planting young seedlings to watering, trimming and harvesting crops.

The innovation will boost production from 21,000 lettuces a day to 50,000 a day, the firm said, adding that it planned to raise that figure to half a million lettuces daily within five years.

Japan’s ministry of agriculture wants to dedicate 4 billion yen ($36 million) to developing autonomous tractors and twenty different types of farming robots.