Challenges and Insights from JA Youth Department in Fukuoka: Dealing with the ‘Hot’ Autumn”

On October 18th, one of our member had the opportunity to present as a guest speaker at the 56th JA Fukuoka Prefecture Youth Department Convention.
He introduced “Skeepon” to hundreds of young farmers.
Here we’d like to share the interesting insights and connections we made during the event.

With the scorching summer we had, causing various damages across the country, it was really heartwarming to see such enthusiasm and high expectations for Skeepon.

During the presentation, he explained the mechanism of Skeepon, supported by results from past verification experiments.
After the event, during the social gathering, he had the chance to chat with various farmers.

Given that “Toyonoka,” a popular strawberry variety, hails from this region, many strawberry farmers were present. They shared their concerns, saying, “This year, the temperature hasn’t dropped much, and we’ve had a prolonged hot spell.”
Moreover, they expressed worries about the strawberry’s flowering phase, which is crucial for future harvests. They mentioned, “If these high temperatures continue, it could affect the flower bud differentiation, and we’re concerned about the upcoming peak strawberry season.”

In response to their concerns, some farmers expressed interest in using Skeepon. They even suggested, “We’d like to give it a try, so could we conduct a trial experiment in our region?” It’s the first time we’ll be conducting strawberry experiments, and we gratefully agreed to collaborate.

Another issue that came up was related to lettuce farming. A lettuce farmer mentioned, “The continuous high temperatures are causing growth abnormalities and deteriorating quality in our autumn lettuce crops.” We proposed that Skeepon might be a solution to this problem. Furthermore, they said, “We’re thinking of organizing a study group on Skeepon for our lettuce section. Would you be interested in joining?”
We warmly accepted their invitation.

Listening to these diverse voices, we once again realized the challenges faced by farmers due to the damage caused by this summer’s scorching heat.

The reason we had the opportunity to give this presentation was that “Agventure Lab,” an agricultural venture support organization run by the JA Group, participated in this convention.
As part of their efforts, we got to introduce Skeepon. We have been fortunate to have a strong connection with “Agventure Lab” since our selection as one of the companies for the JA Accelerator Program’s first term.

Moreover, there were some delightful encounters at the venue. We had the chance to meet a farmer from Fukuoka who appeared in an introduction video for “Agventure Lab’s” startup companies a year ago. They had been using Skeepon since then and mentioned, “I’ve been experiencing its effectiveness, so I’ve been recommending it to friends.”

Stay tuned for more updates and adventures in the world of agriculture with Skeepon!