Ikoma City Smart Agriculture Promotion Subsidy

① Overview: The Ikoma City Smart Agriculture Promotion Subsidy supports the purchase of equipment that introduces smart farming technologies such as ICT, IoT, AI, robots, drones, remote-control mowers, and related tools. Its policy purpose is to reduce farm workload, improve efficiency, secure and develop agricultural successors, and sustain local agriculture. The official city page presents examples such as robotic mowing, assist suits, and fertilizer spraying by drone. ② Eligible applicants: Eligible applicants are farmers operating in Ikoma City who are certified farmers, certified new farmers, persons positioned in the target map of a regional plan, or persons who own farmland in Ikoma City and manage it properly. The program excludes equipment for which the applicant receives cost compensation from the national government, another local government, or similar source. Grants are limited to once per fiscal year, and the same type of equipment can receive support only once in a lifetime. ③ Eligible projects and costs: The eligible project is the purchase of smart agricultural equipment that enables labor saving or efficiency improvement and is used by the applicant in their own farming operation. Eligible costs are purchase costs for the equipment. Used equipment, system usage fees, communication fees, and other maintenance or management costs are excluded. The equipment must be truly necessary for farming, used appropriately after introduction, and directly linked to the business plan. ④ Amount, timing, and application points: The subsidy rate is one half of eligible expenses, rounded down below 10 yen. The standard ceiling is 300,000 yen, while certified farmers, certified new farmers, target-map farmers, and eligible groups of two or more farmers can receive up to 600,000 yen. Applications opened on January 15, 2026, with no fixed closing date shown on the page; the program will end when the budget is exhausted, with about three cases expected. Applicants must apply before purchase and start the project only after the grant decision.