[Report on an event sponsored by our company] We held the ``Food/Agriculture Job Hunting Summit'', the largest job hunting seminar in Japan for new graduates specializing in the agriculture/food industry, and 92% of participating students said they were glad to participate. Answer.

On Saturday, March 9, 2019, as job hunting for new graduates in 2020 was in full swing, the Food and Agriculture Job Hunting Summit was held at Shinagawa Grand Hall (Minato Ward, Tokyo), attracting 368 students from around the country, with 38 companies and groups from the agriculture and food industry exhibiting at their corporate booths.
A talk session was also held with the theme of "How the future of agriculture will change with IT and cutting-edge technology," featuring representatives from companies that are leading the industry with the latest technology.
We will report on the comments from participating students and companies, as well as the situation on the day of the event.

Primary Industry Net, a job information site specializing in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries operated by our company, which specializes in agriculture as a business field, held the Food and Agriculture Job Hunting Summit, a job hunting seminar for new graduates in 2020, for the sixth consecutive year.
Japan's agriculture faces many problems, with the most notable one being a shortage of human resources. However, now there are companies offering jobs and employment environments that change the conventional image of agriculture, and an increasing number of students who want to create new value in agriculture. This seminar will be a meeting point between new graduates who will be the core of the next generation of the agricultural industry and companies, and will include a joint information session with exhibitor companies' booths, as well as talk sessions with guests from prominent companies active on the front lines, to convey the current situation and appeal of the agricultural industry from various angles and support the choice of "getting a job in the agricultural industry as a new graduate." Students from major agricultural universities, national and private universities across the country from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and various other schools gathered, recording the largest number of attendees ever.
A similar job-hunting seminar is planned for March 2020 for new graduates in 2021.

[Voices of participating students (excerpts)]
"I was able to find many companies that were not listed on the major search sites. I am also very satisfied with the number of excellent companies that offer good employee benefits."
"I attended this information session because it's rare to have one that focuses on the agricultural industry. Through this event, I was able to clearly understand the type of company I want to work for."
"My peers who are interested in the same industry asked me lots of questions, which was both informative and inspiring. The company representatives spoke passionately and I could feel their passion for their companies and society."
"I'm glad I came here. My preconceived notion of the agricultural industry has changed, and I've found a company that I want to apply to."
"Even in similar businesses, each company focuses on different things, so I was able to compare them and do industry research."
"I wasn't originally interested, but after listening to the talk I became interested in livestock farming. I'm considering getting a job."

[Voices from participating companies (excerpts)]
"At larger job fairs held by other companies across all industries, we had trouble attracting customers to our booth, perhaps because it was difficult to communicate the services we offered, but this time many students came. I think that specializing in an industry makes all the difference."
"I participate every year, but this was the highest level of enthusiasm from students in recent years. There was no time until the very end when there were no people at the booth, so it was a very successful event, and I gained a lot from it."
"I was surprised that more students than I expected sat at our booth. It was a good PR opportunity, and it was also helpful to see the reactions of today's students. I'm glad they provided us with this opportunity."

On the day, a talk session was held on the theme of "The Future of Agriculture Changing with IT and Cutting-Edge Technology," featuring representatives from companies leading the industry with the latest technologies such as agricultural IoT cloud, ICT next-generation nutrient solution soil cultivation systems, and vegetable harvesting robots.
<Guest speakers (in alphabetical order)>
Shinichi Sasaki, CEO, Routrek Networks Inc.
■Koji Seike/CEO, Desamis Inc.
■Yutaka Hishiki / CEO, Inaho Inc.
After listening to the talk session, students had this to say: "It was good to learn about the future of agriculture. I feel that the times are definitely automation, IT, and IoT.", "I had heard of agricultural IoT before, but didn't know much about it, so I'm glad I got to learn more about it.", "Being a president who is active on the front lines, it was very persuasive and it made me more motivated to get into agriculture.", and "It was fun to hear about the inside story of the agricultural industry. It helped me to ease my anxiety about finding a job." Many students said they felt more positive about working in the agricultural industry.

Participating companies and groups (in alphabetical order): Earthside Co., Ltd. (Earthside Group) / Iagri Co., Ltd. / Asagiri Maple Farm LLC / Alpha Innovation Group / ARK Co., Ltd. (Tategamori ARK Farm) / E-Support Link Co., Ltd. / Ibigawa Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Ibigawa Kogyo Group) / Sakae Nojin Co., Ltd. / Oyama Co., Ltd. / Kawasaki Group / Grand One Farm Co., Ltd. / Crest Group / Kobayashi Nosan LLC / Sakaue Co., Ltd. / Salad Bowl Co., Ltd. / Shimizuko Feed Co., Ltd. / Shin Energy Co., Ltd. / National Federation of Dairy Cooperative Associations, Zenraku Foods Co., Ltd., Zen Trading Co., Ltd. / Telef Co., Ltd. Farm (Rakuten Group) / Top Farm Co., Ltd. / Nakayama Farm Co., Ltd. / Nosan Corporation of Japan (Mitsubishi Corporation Group) / National Agriculture Research Institute Co., Ltd. / Nobels Group / Hayashi Farm Co., Ltd. / Pharos Farm Co., Ltd. / Fujii Farm Co., Ltd. / Houmi Nogyo Co., Ltd. / Honkawa Farm Co., Ltd. (Honkawa Group) / Mars Computer Inc. / Maeda Agricultural Foods Co., Ltd. / Mizuho Farm Co., Ltd. / Yamamoto Tadanobu Shoten Co., Ltd. / Hogen Mushroom Co., Ltd. / Yonekyu Group / Rui Design Office Co., Ltd. (Rui Group, Rui Farm) / Watanabe Pipe Co., Ltd. / Watami Co., Ltd. (Group), Watami Farm Co., Ltd.