Automating the Harvest, Which Accounts for 20% of All Farm Work The biggest problem that Japanese agriculture presently faces is the decrease in farm workers and the aging population. Whereas the number of people engaged in agriculture was 3,353,000 in 2005, it dropped to 2,606,000 in 2010, and 1,922,000 in 2016. Meanwhile, the percentage of elderly people has risen, from 58.2% at age 65 or above among all people engaged in agriculture in 2005, to 61.6% in 2010, and 65.2% in 2016. Changes in the work force and percentage of elderly workers in Japanese agriculture This has reduced agricultural productivity, increased the number of fields and rice paddies that have been abandoned, and lowered...
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