Ibaraki Prefecture Releases Video on Its Challenge of Achieving Profitable, Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Industry on December 8

-Coinciding with 2023 G7 Interior and Security Ministers' Meeting in Mito City-

MITO, Japan, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ibaraki Prefectural Government, the host of the 2023 Group of Seven (G7) Interior and Security Ministers' Meeting in Mito, released a video on December 8, 2023, featuring leaders of the local farming and fisheries sector making strenuous efforts, as well as the Ibaraki governor's message.

Ibaraki Prefecture, endowed with fertile land and the bountiful sea, is thriving with agriculture and fishing. Furthermore, as it is close to Japan's capital Tokyo, and supported by excellent transportation networks, Ibaraki Prefecture has been playing an important role in supplying food to the Tokyo metropolitan area. The video introduces such scenes.

Video "Coming to your dinner table soon? Ibaraki's extra sweet potatoes, AI farmed fish": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8QBj1iKyzM

Images:
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Highlights
To the world's dining tables: Ibaraki's farm product exports increase tenfold over six years:
Ibaraki ranks second in gross agricultural output on a prefectural basis in the country. In anticipation of the shrinkage of the domestic market due to depopulation, Ibaraki Prefecture, focusing on "Hitachi" beef, rice, fruits, and vegetables as key items, is exploring overseas markets and promoting exports. Exports of sweet potatoes are brisk because of demand for baked sweet potatoes in Southeast Asia. The Namegata region in the southeast of the prefecture is a leading producer of sweet potatoes in Japan.

Ibaraki's fisheries industry combating climate change with the latest technology:
Ibaraki Prefecture, with rich fishing grounds, ranked second in marine fish harvest by prefecture in Japan in fiscal 2021. Ibaraki is the country's biggest harvester of mackerel. Ibaraki Prefecture, however, analyzes that aquafarming is indispensable to prepare for possible risks of changing marine environments caused by climate change and subsequent poor catches.

- Launching a verification project for mackerel aquaculture using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and devices to feed the fish automatically while checking their physical conditions, among other means.

- Starting "Kasumigaura caviar," a new brand using cultured sturgeons.
Aquafarming has advantages over catching fish in the oceans because it is less affected by climate change, and it can be carried out onshore using fresh water.

Map:
https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107964/202312063911/_prw_PI5fl_Z16wAkO2.png