Plant Factories for Everyone: Creating a Sustainable Future Together with Plant Factories

Our organization endorses April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to send out dreams. This press release is the dream of the 'Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA)'.

JPFA is an NPO established in 2010. Based on collaboration among industry, academia, government, and citizens, we aim to contribute to the simultaneous resolution of global challenges we face in food, environment, and energy/resources, and to the improvement of people's health and quality of life in a sustainable future, through research, development, demonstration, and dissemination of technologically and economically sustainable plant factory systems. At the Kashiwanoha Campus of Chiba University, we have accepted over 53,000 visitors to date and actively engage in diverse activities related to plant factories in cooperation with individuals from Japan and abroad.

August 31 - September 1, 2026: The 3rd JPFA International Symposium on Plant Factory (ISPF2026) to be held!

JPFA will hold the 3rd JPFA International Symposium on Plant Factory from Monday, August 31 to Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at the Kashiwanoha Conference Center. We are preparing various programs aimed at open discussions and international co-creation in Kashiwanoha Smart City, which aims for 'living and becoming healthy', focusing on the utilization methods, roles, technical challenges, and directions of artificial light type plant factories with diverse purposes and applications, social activities using plant factories as part of the global ecosystem, and the potential of diverse and flexible food and plant production systems. This is expected to be a valuable exchange opportunity not only for companies involved in plant factories but also for researchers, educators, and administrative officials from various fields, and furthermore, for people from a wider range of fields to break down barriers and connect. We sincerely invite you to participate.

• Lectures by diverse domestic and international speakers
• Panel discussions
• Exhibitions by companies and organizations
• Poster presentations, etc.

Plant Factories for the City and Citizens

As part of our efforts to research, develop, and disseminate plant factory technology, we actively promote dialogue with cities and civil society, and co-creation with Kashiwanoha Smart City. As a first step, we are participating in the Kashiwanoha Life Science Council, which is responsible for the social implementation of research results from the Kashiwanoha area and beyond, and for promoting and supporting collaboration with academia and companies.

Main Activities of JPFA

At multiple plant factory demonstration facilities located within the grounds of Chiba University's Kashiwanoha Campus (Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences), research and demonstration of science agriculture friendly to people and the environment are conducted by combining diverse technologies and methods in collaboration with various companies. JPFA supports the operation and management of these plant factory facilities, promotes collaboration between academia and industry, and implements initiatives to apply academic research results to industry and civil society. The cumulative number of visitors to these facilities from Japan and abroad exceeds 50,000. We also conduct human resource development to train plant factory specialists, accept inspection tours from various countries, and plan/operate joint events.