AGRIST Targets 60% Reduction in Cucumber Cultivation Labor Through Smart Farming Project

AGRIST Inc., a startup solving agricultural challenges through technology, announced its selection for the Fiscal Year 2025 'Smart Agriculture Technology Development and Supply Project,' commissioned by the Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution.

Through this project, AGRIST plans to develop additional features for its existing automated harvesting robot by fiscal year 2028, enabling the automation of daily cultivation management tasks such as 'leaf pruning' and 'fruit thinning.' The company aims for the early social implementation of this next-generation model, transforming the robot from a simple harvester into a system that 'nurtures crops 24/7 in place of humans.'

■ Background
Japan's agricultural sector faces severe labor shortages and an aging population. In cucumber cultivation, daily management tasks like leaf pruning and fruit thinning require significant labor beyond harvesting, placing a heavy burden on producers.

Leaf pruning (trimming old leaves): Essential for disease prevention and improving sunlight efficiency.
Fruit thinning (removing excess fruit): Essential for concentrating nutrients to produce high-quality cucumbers.

These tasks occur throughout the year, requiring 300 hours per 10a (based on company data). By achieving precise and timely robot-led work, the company intends to significantly reduce management burdens, improve cucumber quality, and contribute to stable production and profitability for farmers.

AGRIST has been developing and testing its AI-powered automatic harvesting robot 'Q' across Japan. Responding to long-standing feedback from producers—'Can you automate the year-round management tasks, not just harvesting?'—the company decided to pursue this development.

■ Project Content
AGRIST will equip its robot with automated 'leaf pruning' and 'fruit thinning' features. This creates synergy beyond simple labor savings.

Triple-function Labor Saving
One robot handles harvesting, leaf pruning, and fruit thinning, contributing to up to a 60% reduction in cultivation management workload.

Improved AI Recognition
By trimming leaves that obstruct the camera's view, the robot achieves a self-reinforcing cycle where finding cucumbers becomes easier, ultimately increasing harvesting efficiency.

■ Comment from Yuki Hata, Representative Director of AGRIST Inc.
'Throughout our development process alongside producers, we have heard pressing requests to automate management tasks like leaf pruning and fruit thinning. We aim to create a next-generation AI robot that acts as a 'trusted partner' for producers, monitoring and nurturing crops 24/7. We will continue to challenge ourselves to realize sustainable agriculture that lasts for 100 years.'

■ Future Outlook
AGRIST aims for early social implementation of the next-generation cucumber harvesting robot equipped with these management options. By establishing this technology, the company expects to further enhance the cost-effectiveness of robot adoption, improving profitability and working environments for farmers.

The company is also strengthening its engineering team for this project and is actively recruiting. Casual interviews are available.