MATSUDO CHIBA, Japan — A Japanese technology which enables stable plant production all year-round may just be the answer to help prevent losses in agricultural output during typhoon season in agricultural countries like the Philippines.

Prof. Toru Maruo of Chiba University here said some companies in Japan have converted free spaces in buildings, condominiums, apartments or abandoned areas into a plant factory, which aims to help stabilize the production of vegetables such as lettuce, welsh onion, spinach, and herbs in Japan.

Vegetables are important among the Japanese as most of its foods served at home and in restaurants have vegetables. The Japanese are believed to have a long life span due to constant vegetable consumption.

“You can grow vegetables anywhere in a plant factory,” Maruo said, adding that plant factories deal with agricultural issues such as food safety as well as the aging population in Japan.

Only about five percent of the Japanese population is under 40 years old. On the other hand, the aging population in Japan, particularly in the field of agriculture, is increasing.

The aging population and the decreasing farm production have opened an avenue for the research and development of a plant factory.

“A plant factory is an effective method for removing stress from the plants from too much heat, insufficient water and fertilizer,” he explained.

A plant factory is a protected facility which is highly controlled and uses artificial lighting for a year-round constant production. It is proven effective in reducing water stress and nutrient stress; improves plant spacing and uses a moving bench system to enrich planting density as well as supplemental lighting to reduce low light stress.

Using the “Hydroponics technique,” Maruo said a plant factory can maintain a high level of carbon dioxide in the cultivation environment. He said that unlike greenhouses which are kept open during the summer to decrease heat, plant factories are enclosed all the time, thereby reducing the risk of any contamination in vegetables. Water usage is also highly improved compared to plant cultivation in greenhouses.

Hydroponic culture is a nutriculture as it only needs water and nutrient medium to control cultivation.

The technology ensures clean, quality vegetables as no chemical fertilizers and no genetic modification is done. It is also effective in saving water resources, Maruo said. “This method is valid, it is effective for regions and countries with not much water,” he said.

Currently, the technology had already been introduced in South Korea and in the Middle East. “I hope the plant factory technology will be used not only in Japan but in other countries around the world. That will help bring the cost down,” Maruo said.

Mirai Co., Ltd. president Shigeharu Shimamura, who has studied under Prof. Maruo at the Faculty of Horticulture in Chiba University, has set up his own plant factory in Matsudo-shi, Chiba Prefecture.

He said a 60 square meter plant factory costs about 20 million yen. “You may think it’s expensive but the production cost is half the cost compared to greenhouse cultivation,” he said. Shimamura’s plant factory can produce 300 lettuces every day.