Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ) and Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony) have announced a partnership to create a joint venture focused on smart agriculture.
The new company will provide soil moisture sensors and irrigation services to help farmers improve their work and make agriculture more efficient.
It will begin operations in April 2026. By combining IIJ’s knowledge of communication technology and smart farming with Sony’s sensor technology, the goal is to support sustainable agriculture that can better handle climate change.
As climate change is deteriorating, agriculture is facing more challenges, such as crop damage from extreme weather. To deal with these issues, farmers need precision farming methods, which traditional farming cannot address. In Japan, the aging population of farmers as well as the lack of younger workers make it even more important to find ways to make farming easier and more efficient.
To address these challenges, IIJ has been working on smart agriculture since 2017, using its water management sensors and wireless communication technologies like LPWA. IIJ has partnered with farmers as well as local governments to set up IoT systems in different types of farms, including rice, vegetable, and citrus farms, using data to improve farming efficiency.
Sony has also been working on using technology to solve environmental as well as social problems. They’ve developed accurate soil moisture sensors and AI-based data analysis tools, and have been conducting research to apply these technologies in agriculture.