Europe, with a population of over 700 million, is a huge economic zone which ranks alongside the USA in terms of scale. People in Europe are very environmentally conscious, a fact which is also evident in the region’s food and agriculture. In particular, in order to achieve the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),^*1 farmers in EU member countries are required to shift to sustainable agriculture that is both highly productive and competitive. Even France, a major exporter of agricultural products, had been facing fundamental challenges from 1990 onward, the result among other things of a declining farming population and decreasing farmland. There was also the problem of soil pollution caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Under these circumstances, how would it be possible to provide crops efficiently at a low cost and with less labor, and at the same time achieve environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture?

Having established a site for its business operations in France in 1974, Kubota worked to build a solid brand in this field. Over the years, our medium-sized and compact tractors have gained an outstanding reputation here as lawn mowing equipment for parks and large gardens managed by both government agencies and private individuals. We have also been meeting the needs of small and medium-scale farmers working in olive groves, wine vineyards, orchards, and mixed dry-field and dairy farming on account of the size and ease of use of our machinery, the likes of which were not available in Europe at that time. In recent years, we have begun to develop and produce large tractors locally, and have made a full-scale entry into the European dry-field farming market. This is also an effort to address future global food issues. Carrying out both acquisitions and partnerships with other businesses, we were able to offer total solutions including collaborative implements^*2 and smart agriculture, providing us with the impetus to take on the challenge of sustainable agriculture in Europe.