The Advanced Plant Factory Research Center (Director: Professor IKEDA Takashi of the School of Agriculture) held an experiential learning class for elementary school students, Growing Vegetables in a Plant Factory, on July 22. The program is held every summer to promote plant factories and interact with the local community. This year, applications exceeded capacity, and a total of 21 elementary school students from the local area and farther afield participated in two sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
The class began with a mini-lecture, and participants learned about vegetable cultivation in an environmentally controlled plant factory and deepened their understanding of the significance of technologies that enable stable and hygienic cultivation regardless of weather or season, as well as their potential for future agriculture. After the mini-lecture, participants experienced the process of seeding, planting (transplanting), and harvesting vegetables in a clean room. Participants and parents commented, “It was a valuable opportunity to enter a clean room,” and “It was interesting to experience harvesting the vegetables myself.”
The Center will continue to work on the development of functional vegetables, cultivation techniques and on human resource development, aiming to advance sustainable agriculture and contribute to society.