However, with the agricultural sector already heavily criticised for its contribution to global warming, and the sector vulnerable to climate change impacts, increasing global food production to feed an additional two million inhabitants using conventional models is no longer seen as viable.

Plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) – more widely known as vertical or indoor farms – are recognised as a promising model that protects food production from weather extremes, optimises yields and can reduce the overall impact of agriculture on the environment.

In their latest venture, two pioneers of indoor farming – Toyoki Kozai and Eri Hayashi – have collaborated with an impressive range of international experts to produce a new book: Advances in plant factories: New technologies in indoor
vertical farming.

“Professor Toyoki Kozai and Dr Eri Hayashi have had a major influence on the advancement and global understanding of vertical farming,” says Christine Zimmermann-Lössl, Chairwoman of the Association for Vertical Farming, Germany.

“This new book addresses key topics such as energy modelling, the nutritional components of crops and spectral manipulation. We see tremendous value in this latest publication from Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing and are confident that it will become a standard reference book in this area,” she concludes.

The book provides an authoritative review of the latest research in the development and application of PFALs for a range of crop, including the application of machine vision, plant phenotyping and spectral imaging to monitor plant health and growth.

PFALs are viewed by many as a more resources-efficient production model with less environmental impact. For example, when compared to conventional open-field production, PFALs have been proven to reduce water consumption by 90% per kg of produce and pesticide and herbicide usage by almost 100%. And it’s the technology within the system that enables this.

“One of the core technologies of the PFAL derives from the use of an airtight and thermally insulated cultivation room with sensors for measuring all resource inputs, product outputs, environmental factors and plant traits or phenotype,” says Professor Toyoki Kozai, co-editor of this new book.

“This means that plant environmental factors can be controlled at an optimum point with minimum resource inputs and waste outputs, regardless of local weather, soil and ecosystem conditions,” he adds.

What makes this book particularly valuable is that it also addresses the continuing challenges that indoor farming faces.

The editors, along with the contributing authors, identify where more research and investment is required to tackle some of the biggest obstacles facing indoor farming, including the current rate of resource consumption (electricity, plastics and fertilisers), as well as the emission of greenhouse gases during the construction and operation of PFALs.

There will be keynote speeches on the latest technology and interdisciplinary research on PFALs and open discussions on business trends, needs for technology development and collaboration specific to PFALs, and future possibilities for social activities with key players such as PFAL operators actively involved internationally. Poster presentations, exhibitions, and sponsored lunch sessions will also be held at the venue, providing an opportunity for interaction and high-level networking among the world’s plant factory leaders and enthusiastic community.

The symposium will feature the keywords, including “Global trends, challenges, and prospects of plant factory business, large-scale strawberry plant factory, fully automated plant factory, improving light and other resource use efficiency in plant factories, plant phenotyping, plant factories with generative AI, next-generation nutrient solution management, breeding, space farms, plant-made pharmaceuticals and functional food, urban farm, plant factories for the circular economy, plant factories in the smart city.” These topics will be covered through open discussions and international collaboration at smart city Kashiwa-no-ha, and online, with a view to achieving “staying healthy simply by living.” The symposium will offer highly interactive sessions from various perspectives with leading international researchers and the hottest business leaders of the moment. 

Speakers/Panelists

Chieri Kubota Professor, the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University, U.S.

Leo Marcelis Professor and Head of Chair Group Horticulture and Product Physiology,　Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Hiroki Koga Co-founder and CEO, Oishii Farm, U.S.

Seishi Ninomiya Emeritus Professor, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Francesco Orsini Full Professor, the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Italy

Roel Janssen Chief Business Officer, Planet Farms, Italy

Eiji Goto Professor, Chiba University, Japan

Yoshiaki Kitaya Professor Emeritus and Director of R&D Center for the Plant Factory, Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

Masayuki Hirafuji Project Professor, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Paul Gauthier Professor, Protected Cropping, The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Australia

Katashi Kai General Manager, Shinnippou (808 factory), Japan

Nagateru Nozawa CEO, MIRAI CO., LTD, Japan

Eri Hayashi President, Japan Plant Factory Association

Click https://select-type.com/e/?id=DFQu2EcoBas&w_flg=1 for onsite registration
or https://select-type.com/e/?id=9USB5nqn1p4&w_flg=1 for online registration.

For more information, go to JPFA International Symposium on Plant Factory 2023, or contact the JPFA at symposium@npoplantfactory.org. 

Japan Plant Factory Association

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy, and natural resources.

Activities range from research and development in collaboration with research institutes and industrial companies, technical and business support, planning and operation of human resource development programs to educate plant factory specialists, organizing onsite tours, and international projects, including public relations activities.

Facilities: 15 Plant factories and more on the Kashiwa-no-ha campus site

R&D projects by consortium members, applied research at facilities suitable for demonstration, collaboration with academia and industry

Website: https://npoplantfactory.org/en

The Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) has announced to hold its first Strawberry Course for Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFALs) in English from October 13 to 31, 2022, and is receiving applications.

Since 2018, the JPFA has held training courses on PFALs in English year by year and has accepted over 180 participants from more than 35 countries. The participants’ evaluations of those courses were very positive. On the other hand, the JPFA received eager calls from relevant parties/persons in PFAL industry and controlled environment agriculture for new programs with specified themes.

Now, the JPFA has decided to conduct the Strawberry Course in English to meet such expectations.

The core topics of the Strawberry Course are:

• Current situation on strawberry production in PFALs in Japan and the world
• Physiology of strawberries
• Strawberry production compared to the leafy green production in PFALs
• Keys of strawberry cultivation management in PFALs
• Case study: Strawberry production in a test facility in Kashiwanoha campus
• Case study: Strawberry seedling company, introducing the seed-propagated cultivars
• Challenges and future development of strawberry production and breeding for
  PFALs

First-rate lecturers and professionals with a wide range of knowledge about strawberries from the Ohio State University, Chiba University, Meiji University, a strawberry PFAL, a seedling company, and the JPFA will present lectures, case studies, and the question-and-answer session.

All lectures are pre-recorded and participants can view lecture videos at their convenience during the course period. A live question-and-answer session will be held in late October to clear questions and deepen participants’ understanding. The time required to view all lecture videos will be about 6 hours and 1 hour for the live Q&A session.

The course period is from Thursday, Oct. 13, until Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 (JST).

The course fee is JPY45,000/person for JPFA members and JPY65,000/person for non-members. Anybody interested in the Strawberry Course can apply from here. For more information, click here.

About JPFA 

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization with over 200 members in Japan and abroad, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations. The JPFA oversees plant factories on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. Also, it works on about 20 R&D projects and runs workshops and training courses.
 
Apply for JPFA membership here. JPFA member can:

• obtain a discount on training courses and join workshops free of charge.
• receive the JPFA Weekly, which contains valuable information on the plant factory fields.
• connect with other JPFA members, etc.

For more information;
Nozomi Hiramatsu/Koji Hori
Japan Plant Factory Association
training@npoplantfactory.org
https://npoplantfactory.org/en/

The coming course will comprise introductory classes and specialized content.

Introductory classes will offer elementary theory and practice of PFALs, basic knowledge of cultivation and operational management, and keys to business success. Specialized content will cover practical methods, novel applications, a 60 mins virtual tour to commercial large-scale PFAL, and so on.

Participants will acquire specific and practical know-how as well as be guided through theories and academic knowledge. There will be a live online question-and-answer session during the course.

A special app used for the course will allow participants to interact with each other.

The alumni of the JPFA’s training courses in English in 2018-2022 are welcome to join the coming course.

For more details, please click here.

■Duration: July 15 – August 3, 2022

■Registration

　First-time attendees: Click here.

　The alumni of the 2018-2022 training courses: Visit the URL in the email sent to all the alumni.

*If you cannot access the registration website provided by SelectType, email us at training@npoplantfactory.org.

■Information PDF: Information on JPFA 2022 Online Training Course on PFALs

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
We are looking forward to having you online!


■■■Contact Info■■■
Hori Koji/Hiramatsu Nozomi
International Relations and Consulting
Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA)
Email: training@npoplantfactory.org

The webinar will provide an overview of the European plant factory market as well as the latest business and research initiatives. Roel Janssen, the chief business officer at Planet Farms, will speak on “Planet Farms: Unlocking the true potential of CEA, with a sophisticated industrial approach to vertical farming, combined with Italian food quality.” Then, Pavlos Kalaitzoglou, the VP Science at Infarm, will share his view on the various research topics under the title “Infarm Crop Science – A trip through our research program and philosophy.” In addition to their talks, there will be a Q&A session/panel discussion with Eri Hayashi, Vice President of the JPFA.

Registered participants in the workshop will also be allowed to view the recorded video, which does not contain its Q&A/panel discussion, anytime at their convenience later during a specified period. 

The JPFA 148th workshop will take place on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 9:00-10:30 am (CEST). 

The recorded video can be watched from 6:00 am on Friday, June 3, until 6:00 am on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 (CEST).

The workshop, comprising a live online seminar and a Q&A/panel discussion, is free of charge for JPFA members. Nonmembers are charged 5,000 YEN each.

Anybody interested in JPFA’s upcoming workshop can apply from here. For more information, click here. 

For the annual schedule of the JPFA workshops, click here.

How to Become a JPFA Member
Apply for JPFA membership here. 

For more information
Japan Plant Factory Association
E-mail: benkyokai@npoplantfactory.org
www.npoplantfactory.org/en/
https://npoplantfactory.org/information/study

Japan Plant Factory Association

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization with over 200 members in Japan and abroad, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations. The JPFA oversees plant factories on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. Also, it works on about 20 R&D projects and runs workshops and training courses.

The Japan Plant Factory Association will run a free webinar on horticultural technology on Wednesday in cooperation with RAI Amsterdam GreenTech of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo.

The webinar, entitled “Globalization of horticultural technology & innovative indoor plant production system,” will invite as a keynote speaker Denise Lutz, agricultural counsellor, at the embassy. It will start at 4 p.m. Japan time on March 23, 2022.

Mariska Dreschler, horticulture director, at the Netherlands event organizer, will also speak at the webinar along with Edwin Vanlaerhoven, business development director, at Certhon, which has teamed up with Japan’s Denso. Luuk Graamans, a researcher at Wageningen University & Research, will speak on the current status and future challenges in plant factories in Europe. The webinar will have a question-and-answer session.

You can join the webinar free of charge. Check here for details and register from here.

The webinar’s video recording will be made available to registered people. Even if you cannot join, the registration allows you to view the recording.

The JPFA and RAI have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in technology-driven horticulture. The webinar is their first cooperative activity in accordance with the memorandum.

The JPFA is a nonprofit organization devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

As part of its international activities, the JPFA works on a project of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and provides Japanese plant factory operators Shinnippou Ltd., the operator of the 808 Factory, and Kidaya Shoten Co., Ltd., which runs greenLand plant factories, with support for their domestic and international activities.

Japan Plant Factory Association

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources.

How to Become a JPFA Member

Apply for JPFA membership here. For more information, visit the JPFA website or email us at training@npoplantfactory.org. We welcome your inquiries.

JPFA Website: https://npoplantfactory.org/en/ 

Webinar details: https://npoplantfactory.org/webinar-march-23-2022/

Webinar program PDF: https://npoplantfactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Program_Webinar-JPFA-and-GreenTech-March-23.pdf 

Webinar registration form: https://bit.ly/3vJLD9N

Running plant factories requires science-based knowledge as well as practical operational methods and good business administration. The Japan Plant Factory Association has an upcoming online training course so that you can learn such topics.

The JPFA 2022 Online Training Course on Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFALs) to be available from Feb. 25 to March 15 will provide you with knowledge absolutely needed for those concerned with PFALs.

The course encompasses matters that people in the plant factory industry should clear up completely. Its unique content allows participants to learn what is needed not only before but also after PFAL construction.

Q&A Session on March 10

Moreover, the course will get experts ready to answer your questions. Participants will be invited to join a live question-and-answer session scheduled for March 10, where academics and PFAL operators stand by to answer.

Anytime, Anywhere

The course will run on the Swapcard platform and allow participants to learn anytime at their convenience and anywhere in the world during the course period and to connect with each other.

The first-rate lecturers include Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus and former president of Chiba University, who recently released a new co-edited book about plant factories, and Chieri Kubota, professor at the Ohio State University.

The JPFA is receiving applications now. Check here and apply now. If you have any questions about the course, email us at training@npoplantfactory.org.

Nozomi Hiramatsu/Koji Hori
International Relations and Consulting
Japan Plant Factory Association（JPFA）
Email: training@npoplantfactory.org

For more information

Japan Plant Factory Association
https://npoplantfactory.org/en/
https://npoplantfactory.org/information/news/3561/
https://npoplantfactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Information-on-JPFA-2022-
Online-Training-Course-on-PFALs.pdf　
Japan Plant Factory Association
The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is
devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment
agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to
address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources.

How to Become a JPFA Member

Apply for JPFA membership here. For more information, visit the JPFA website or email
us at training@npoplantfactory.org. We welcome your inquiries.

The JPFA will run a new online training course in English on plant factories with artificial lighting (PFALs) on Feb. 25-March 15, 2022, which allows you to learn how large-scale PFALs in Japan ensure stable supply and quality for clients, a crucial point in business operations in such an era.

You are invited to check and apply from here.

The science-based practical course has special content which includes detailed explanations, provided with examples, about what an expert at the operator of greenLand PFALs views as important in its operations. The explanations are given from a marketing perspective.

Another special content class, A Close Look inside a Large-Scale Commercial PFAL (808 Factory), tells you how the plant factory is operated to serve its role.

Phenomics and Potential of Phenotyping is among the special content too, along with Hands-on Technical Training on PFAL Business Management.

The coming course is offered online and not on-site due to the pandemic, but it allows participants to acquire specific and practical know-how in addition to theories and other academic knowledge.

Participants can join a live online question-and-answer session scheduled for early March to put their questions to experts.

For beginners, the course has introductory classes about PFAL principles and the basics, such as photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, light environment and plant growth, nutrient solution and hydroponic cultivation, as well as about forthcoming technologies and PFAL business management.

For a basic understanding of hydroponic cultivation, for example, Cultivation Management discusses seeding to precooling, and Cultivation Processes Demonstrated gives virtual hands-on demonstrations of such matters as how to handle and transplant seedlings.

Not only JPFA members but also nonmembers can join the course to be run on a specified platform and available anytime at your convenience and anywhere in the world during the course period. Participants can interact with each other on the platform.

The first-rate lecturers of the coming course include Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus and former president of Chiba University who recently released a new co-edited book about plant factories, and Chieri Kubota, professor at the Ohio State University.

The JPFA oversees a plant factory hub on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. The nonprofit organization has shifted from on-site to online training due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has yet to be behind us with the Omicron variant spreading fast.

Button link [ Apply Now ]

For more information

Japan Plant Factory Association
https://npoplantfactory.org/en/
https://npoplantfactory.org/information/news/3561/

https://npoplantfactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Information-on-JPFA-2022-Online-Training-Course-on-PFALs.pdf　

Japan Plant Factory Association

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources.

How to Become a JPFA Member

Apply for JPFA membership here. For more information, visit the JPFA website or email us at training@npoplantfactory.org. We welcome your inquiries.

As the world is pursuing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, the Japan Plant Factory Association will highlight the importance of looking beyond the SDGs in its coming online event.

The nonprofit organization will hold the “Japan Plant Factory Association 10th Anniversary Fest–10 Years of Progress, and Achieving the SDGs and Beyond” on Sept. 15-17.

The member-only fest commemorates the 10th anniversary of the JPFA and a plant factory hub it oversees on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo.

When the plant factory hub was completed, “the JPFA already envisioned what the SDGs address,” JPFA President Toshitaka Yamaguchi says.

Truly, plant factories, or vertical farms, are seen to play an important role in responding to global challenges, such as poverty, climate change ad environmental degradation, addressed by the SDGs.

“We would like to offer members an opportunity to chart a course for a sustainable future together” by sharing 10 years of progress and activities with them, says Eri Hayashi, vice president of the JPFA.

The online JPFA fest will invite as keynote speakers Chieri Kubota, a professor at the Ohio State University, Hiroki Koga, co-founder and chief executive officer of Oishii Farm, Leo Marcelis, a professor and head of Chair Group Horticulture and Product Physiology at Wageningen University, and Seishi Ninomiya, a project professor at the University of Tokyo.

Toyoki Kozai, JPFA honorary president and former president of Chiba University, and Toru Maruo, JPFA vice president, will also give keynote speeches.

Participants in the fest, to be held on the Swapcard event app, can make contact, chat and have video meetings with other participants and disseminate information. Interested organizational members can have virtual exhibitions.

DAISEN Co., Ltd., an established greenhouse builder, and LeafLab Co., Ltd., a startup developing and supplying tailor-made seeds, have already signed up to exhibit. Also joining as exhibitors are Shinnippou Ltd., which operates the 808 Factory, and Yanmar Green System Co., Ltd., which is known for the Natural Supply Ponics (NSP) system that allows proper irrigation when plants need.

The JPFA fest will also allow participants to join panel discussions and roundtables, share research and project results and learn about activities of member companies and researchers.

One panel discussion is to address challenges and countermeasures in scaling up greenhouses, with the topic brought up by JPFA Director Tetsuo Sekiyama. Another is to center on plant factories with artificial lighting and be joined by representatives from Shinnippou, Kidaya Shoten Co., Ltd., which operates the greenLand plant factories, and ESPEC MIC Corp., which makes plant factories and relevant equipment.

Participants in the fest can also view presentations by companies including &ever GmbH of Germany and Own Greens BV of the Netherlands.

Check the special website for the JPFA 10th Anniversary Fest (https://npoplantfactory.org/10thanniversary_en/) for details.

Although the fest is planned for only members, who can join it free of charge, applying for JPFA membership now ensures your participation. Click here (https://select-type.com/e/?id=EqoC-uNZAeY#page_mail) to be a JPFA member.

For more information:

Japan Plant Factory Association

E-mail: jpfa.anniversary@npoplantfactory.org

https://npoplantfactory.org/en/

https://npoplantfactory.org/10thanniversary_en/

About Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA)

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization with over 200 members in Japan and abroad, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

The Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) has taken a look at how better it can offer workshops, which the coronavirus pandemic forced it to hold online, and has resolved not to sacrifice interactivity.

The JPFA has a rich history of running over 140 workshops since the first one in October 2009, most of which were done on-site before the pandemic. So, online workshops with recorded lectures held so far in pandemic times were somewhat unsatisfactory for the nonprofit organization.

The JPFA has thus moved to run new online workshops live with a seminar and a question-and-answer session. JPFA Vice President Eri Hayashi points to “what participants cannot ask unless they join live and interact,” saying that “previously, all workshop participants came to our site and learned together.”

Meantime, online workshops have their merits. The JPFA will allow registered participants in each new workshop to view its seminar’s recorded video later during a specified period although the recording does not contain the seminar Q&A session. Also, it is possible to participate in online workshops anywhere in the world.

For another reason, new JPFA workshops deserve consideration. They are made free of charge in principle for its members.

The first new workshop, the JPFA’s 142nd one, will be held on July 9, 2021, with its seminar scheduled for 9:00-11:00 on that day (JST). 

In the seminar, Prof. Chieri Kubota of the Ohio State University will first speak in Japanese on “The Latest Developments in the United States in the Fields of Greenhouse Horticulture and Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting.” 

Ian Justus, vice president of cultivation at Connected Cannabis, will speak next in English on “Cannabis Cultivation in Controlled Environments in the United States.”

A Q&A session, hosted in Japanese and English by Hayashi of the JPFA, will wrap up the workshop. 

The recorded seminar video can be watched from 13:00 on Tuesday, July 13, until 13:00 on Tuesday, July 20 (JST). While JPFA members can attend the new workshop free of charge, nonmembers will be charged 3,000 yen each (including the consumption tax).

Anybody interested in the JPFA’s upcoming workshop can apply from here (https://select-type.com/e/?id=uqF7xCNjV0c). For more information, click here (https://npoplantfactory.org/information/study/2687/).

To apply for JPFA membership, click here (https://select-type.com/e/?id=EqoC-uNZAeY#page_mail).

The JPFA is planning to hold the next 143rd workshop on strawberries, possibly in early August.

For more information:

Japan Plant Factory Association

E-mail: benkyokai@npoplantfactory.org

www.npoplantfactory.org/en/

https://npoplantfactory.org/information/study/2687/

About Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA)

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization with over 200 members in Japan and abroad, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations. 
Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources. 
The JPFA oversees plant factories on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. Also, it works on about 20 R&D projects and runs workshops and training courses.

Japan is a leader in the world of indoor farming. At the heart of their success is a non-profit organization, the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA), and Eri Hayashi, its Vice President. Find out more about this sophisticated collaboration between academia, industry, and government. See the ways several of Japan’s indoor farm companies use technological advances, sophisticated production efficiency measures, and data-driven operations to promote high productivity and uniformity. Find out what innovations are driving what Hayashi refers to as the fourth generation of plant factories with artificial light. 

Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of the OptimIA project, funded by the USDA SCRI grant program. Interested parties can join the free café forums, live or recorded (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forum is designed to serve as a communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. 

Plant factories, or vertical farms, are grabbing the headlines lately. Learn about them on our science-based practical online course–anytime at your convenience and anywhere in the world during the course period.

Besides introductory classes on the basics of PFALs, the course has the just mentioned PFAL virtual tour and the following other special content:

• A lecture on phenomics and potential of phenotyping
• Hands-on technical training on PFAL business management
• Tailored, further explanations on previous-course lectures,
• Operational and hygiene management, future of PFALs in COVID-19 times (2020 Workshop)

Its introductory classes cover not only PFAL principles and the basics like photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, light environment and plant growth, nutrient solution and hydroponic cultivation, but also forthcoming technologies and PFAL business management.

The JPFA oversees a plant factory hub on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. The nonprofit organization has shifted from on-site to online training due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first-rate lecturers of the coming course include Toyoki Kozai, professor emeritus and former president of Chiba University, who is known as the father of plant factories, and Chieri Kubota, professor at the Ohio State University.

Along with lectures, the training course, run on a specified platform, encourages participants to interact each other and gives them a chance to join an online live question-and-answer session.

The course is available for anybody interested in PFALs–not only JPFA members but nonmembers as well. If you are curious, check here and apply now.

For more information

Japan Plant Factory Association
https://npoplantfactory.org/en/
https://npoplantfactory.org/information/news/2120/

https://npoplantfactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Renewed-Information-for-JPFA-2021-Online-Training-Course-on-Plant-Factories-with-Artificial-Lighting-PFALs-2021.1.20.pdf

Japan Plant Factory Association

The Japan Plant Factory Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 2010, is devoted to advancing the plant factory industry and controlled-environment agriculture in and outside Japan through academia-industry collaborations.

Its mission is to develop and disseminate sustainable plant factory systems in a bid to address issues concerning food, the environment, energy and natural resources.

The JPFA oversees plant factories on the Chiba University Kashiwanoha campus in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo. Also, it works on about 20 R&D projects and runs workshops and training courses.

How to Become a JPFA Member

Apply for JPFA membership here. For more information, visit the JPFA website or email us at training@npoplantfactory.org. We welcome your inquiries.

Price List for JPFA 2021 Training Course

The Japan Plant Factory Association is starting a new online English-language training course on Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFAL) in February and is receiving applications now.

The JPFA 2021 online training course on PFALs scheduled for February 18 – March 11 comprises introductory classes and special content designed for participants to acquire practical knowledge and expertise. The learning event follows its first online English-language training course that was offered last year. 

Click here to view the course brochure. 

All interested parties in plant factories or vertical farms can seize this opportunity as the course is not only available for JPFA members but also for non-JPFA members. The JPFA is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing controlled-environment agriculture. 

The lecturers include Toyoki Kozai, honorary president of the JPFA and former president and professor emeritus of Chiba University, who is known as the father of plant factories. Introductory classes will cover such topics as current PFALs and forthcoming technologies as well as environmental effects on plants. Special content will allow participants to learn practical methods.

The course will also provide participants with a virtual tour to a commercial, large-scale PFAL and exhibitions by companies in the PFAL and related businesses. Although participants cannot get together as in on-site courses, the course’s platform allows them to enjoy interacting with other attendees and representatives of exhibitors. Also, a live question-and-answer session is planned for participants to deepen their understanding.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to look deeper into this ‘industry,’ which is likely to reshape our future soon,” a Romanian participant of the 2020 course said.

Because the course is online, it may be easier to attend it than an on-site one, especially for those who live outside Japan. 

Click here to apply for the course. 

For more information:
Japan Plant Factory Association
www.npoplantfactory.org  

The Japan Plant Factory Association is offering its renowned Introductory Training Course on Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFALs) online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, as reported earlier.

The course in English has just started!!

The course scheduled for Oct. 8-Nov. 2 is available for not only JPFA members but nonmembers as well. It serves people who have started or are going to start the PFAL business or research.

Have you finished your registration? If not, send in an application.