iGAMO - Ushering in A Golden Age of Terraced Farming – by Team STSSSTSS 桐蔭中等 頌栄女子学院 渋谷教育学園渋谷・幕張高等学校
Executive Summary:“2 times the work, but only half the harvest” is a common adage that describes the inefficiency of terraced farms, and explains why more andmore farmers are abandoning them. According to the NPO “Tanada Network,” in 1993, 12% of all terraced farms in Japan were abandoned or
replaced by other more productive methods of farming. This number went up 40% in the 2010s. On these farms, most of the work must be doneby hand, due to the unique and complicated structure of the land that makes it impossible for the common tractor and combine to be used- eventhough 67% of farmers are over 60 and lack physical strength. In addition, there is a general decline in the number of farmers in Japan. The
Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries released the newest version of the “Agriculture and Forestry Census” in 2015,
reporting that 5.4 million people were farmers in 1985; and after 30 years, this number fell 60%, reducing the farming population to less than ashocking 2 million. Alarmingly, 64% of this population is over the age of 65, and less than 7% are under 39. There is obviously a serious needfor young farmers; however, the working population of those between ages 15- 29 stooped to 63,000 people, a dramatic decrease compared to 5years ago, when the number was about 89,000. Taking a hint from the Aigamo Farming Method, a traditional method of farming dating back toJapan’s Heian Era, we combined ancient tradition with the newest innovations and created an inexpensive and easy-to-use robot. Introducing theIntelligent Ground-Air Modular Observer (iGAMO) - the ultimate farming robot.
1. Mission
Our sole mission is to spread the use of iGAMO, our revolutionary robot that brings automaticity to the agricultural process of planting, tilling,seeding, and harvesting. We have two target audiences: aspiring farmers with few connections in the farming industry, and well-establishedveteran farmers. iGAMO’s unique qualities and arsenal of useful and easy-to-use functions will give the users a crucial edge against farmers
using more traditional methods. It is unique because not only will it improve the efficiency of how farmers tend their farms, but it will also
liberate them from the strenuousness of manual farming, thanks to iGAMO’s automaticity. We are also creating new job opportunities for thosewilling to work in our company. Our product aims to compensate for the shortage in the number of farmers in Japan by doing all of the menial
work that comes with farming; allowing farmers to focus more on other areas of production - like finding better ways to promote their cultivatedgoods. We also hope to encourage farmers and villagers to dedicate more of their time to restoring abandoned terraces. Our business planconsists of the following steps: first, develop iGAMO’s structure and internal programming; second, launch the company; third, receive orders;fourth, inspect the ready-to-be-shipped product; and fifth, ship to the customer. Our profits will be generated by the sales of our product, and thesales of after-care models. At around the 3rd year, we will release a new updated version of iGAMO based on customer feedback and research,which will become a new source of revenue, bringing our total profits for year 5 to 20 million yen. In the near future, we plan on expanding ourcompany to regions South and Southeast Asia, which also use terrace farming.
2. Operation/Product and Services
One of the distinctive characteristics of iGAMO is that it is a modular system. It has a socket to insert
different sickles and plows according to the job it will be performing; whether that be harvesting, weeding,or leveling. When the farmer needs to harvest, the scoop used for harvesting will be affixed to the front, andfor weeding, a hoe-like apparatus will be attached. Each iGAMO will have an integrated GPS which willallow it to coordinate its actions with other iGAMO’s so that they can work effectively as a group, or as welike to call it, a family. There will be a resupply point for energy and seedlings, which will be placed within
the farm. When its battery approaches 15% or it runs out of seedlings to plant, it will head to the resupply point to restock. Also included in theiGAMO package is an aerial reconnaissance drone, which can observe the rice field 3 times a day to look for dangers such as holes and wild
animals, eliminating the need for a human lookout. The drone can even observe factors such as climate, create a growth status radar map andascertain protein content, providing critical information for the farmer to analyze. Should there be a need for emergency action, it will sendorders accordingly to the resupply point, which will communicate instructions to operating iGAMO units. The robot itself consists of an outerplastic cover, with an electronic circuit inside that processes the information and orders given from the resupply point. A sensor on the top of therobot is used to identify various conditions and locations. A battery-powered motor will move caterpillar tires that allow it to traverse both landand water. The iGAMO robot will carry out agricultural work that causes physical stress for farmers. The middle part of the iGAMO is used asstorage, where seedlings and harvested crops are stored. It comes with a hydroelectric power system, which uses the flow (gravitational potentialenergy) of water on each step to power each unit through an eco-friendly method. We will connect with organizations of terrace farmers such asthe NPO ™Tanada Network™ and the ™Rice Terrace Research Organization,” which host meetings and presentations regarding terrace
farming.
3. Market/Industry Analysis
We target those who are looking to start a career in farming, but are fundamentally outclassed in skill due to their relative inexperience working
in farms compared to veteran farmers who are already established; as well as aging farmers, because they are in need of a system that enables
them to continue working without much physical effort/strength. As regards to the current market, it is evident that the global agriculture andfarm equipment market will witness a significant growth between the years 2015 to 2022. It is already widely recognized that adopting farming
equipment creates efficiency because it can save time, reduce labor costs, and overall create necessary use of inputs to obtain the desired output.
The demand for equipment- such as tractors and harvesting machinery- that can be used for not just one, but for multiple purposes, is what will
supposedly contribute to the overall growth of this market. From this, we can infer that in order to make our product appealing, we must comeup with something that can be used in multiple steps along the entire farming process- in planting, seeding, plowing, and harvesting. Theincreasing growth in the world population is also a factor that will expand the market, because it leads to the need to enhance food production.
Moreover, the increasing technological advances in agricultural technology is leading to the market’s growth internationally. In such acompetitive market, our company plans to differentiate our product from all the others by implementing our aforementioned (in 2.
Operation/Product and Services) unique, innovative, and revolutionary ideas. We can also expect support from convenience stores andrestaurants, that lack the necessary amount of rice to make their products, and would benefit from the increase in rice production that
implementation of iGAMO units in farms would lead to.

4. Marketing/Strategy and Implementation
In order to ensure a sustainable development, our company plans to promote iGAMO and popularize it by: displaying it at the “InternationalRobot Exhibition” and the “Agricultural Material Expo” (short-term plan); putting out ads in provincial newspapers, bulletin boards, the JapanAgricultural News (mid-term plan); creating and hosting opportunities to present and explain about our product to local farmers, alongsidealready established organizations such as “Tanada Network,” “Japan Agricultural Cooperatives,” and the “Rice Terrace Research Organization”(long-term plan); and partnering with popular YouTubers as a way to get information about our company out to younger audiences easier. In our
first year, we will focus on spreading awareness about our product and thus gathering possible users. We will approach veteran farmers bytelling them of the amount of physical labour that can be cut with iGAMO. For the younger generations who have the desire to change theirlifestyles and become farmers but are worried about how to maintain their farms: we will advertise the ease of surveillance that comes with theaerial surveillance drones. These marketing strategies are effective because it reaches both of our target audiences; both the aspiring young
farmers and the older veterans.
5. Finance6. Conclusion
iGAMO will undoubtedly change the dynamics of terrace farming because it provides a much needed solution to the continuous lack of farmers
both domestically and internationally. We ask for 50 million yen from venture capitalists, and we guarantee that it will be a risk-free investment
if they decide to trust our vision, as our company is capable of advancing our business and creating a stable income for workers after the first 3years of the company’s establishment. We will return our investors 51 million yen, as well as 20 kg of premium-quality rice.
[Sources: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLASFS27H6T_X21C15A1PP8000/, http://tanada.or.jp/conservation/abandonment,
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/agriculture-forestry-machinery.html, http://www.nhk.or.jp /ohayou/digest/2017/03/0316.html]