The Reason for Delisting in One Year! The Next Challenge for MyFarm's Kazuma Nishitsuji

MyFarm, which became the first Japanese agricultural social venture to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in November 2023, delisted in December 2024. An employee interviewed CEO Kazuma Nishitsuji about the reasons for delisting after less than a year and the company's future growth strategy.

Press release at the time of listing

Scenes from the listing

The reason for deciding to delist in one year

――Please tell us the reason for deciding to delist this time.

MyFarm Representative Director Kazuma Nishitsuji (hereinafter, Nishitsuji):
The essential reason for deciding to delist is that the evaluation of 'agriculture' in the stock market was extremely low and rarely appreciated.In fact, it was often said that being in the agricultural business was a risk. Before listing, I often received words of encouragement from a medium- to long-term perspective, such as 'Agriculture is an important industry' or 'We support you!' However, once we listed and faced the general market and investors, short-term returns were demanded, and the focus shifted to issues like 'What measures are you taking against that risk?' or 'What will you do if this kind of damage occurs?'


The essential point is that within the market and investors' logical framework of 'minimize risk, maximize profit,' it was difficult for them to understand the nature of the agricultural business.

――In that case, do you think there is a greater benefit to delisting now?

Nishitsuji:
There is a model called Pace Layering, and since agriculture is an industry that utilizes natural capital, it changes at the slowest speed. In addition, the society we aim for has a significant cultural component.
Given that, even if we were listed, we would need to think about things from a medium- to long-term perspective.

When we were listed, we were told to 'hedge risks' and 'pursue short-term profits,' but by delisting and becoming a private company, we have been able to create profit plans based on a medium- to long-term perspective that suits agriculture, just as we did before. We can now allocate personnel and resources that were previously spent on risk hedging back into our core business. This is a major benefit.

The pros and cons of the 'sense of security' gained from listing

――I think there are both good and bad points to listing, but how was it in reality?

Nishitsuji:
As for the good points of listing, people who use our services, such as users of our experience farms and students at our agricultural schools, told us, 'Because you are a listed company, we can sign up with peace of mind.' Financial institutions also told us that our creditworthiness for fundraising had improved.
Indeed, that 'sense of security' in the company and its services was a good point gained from listing.
On the other hand, one of the bad points that was not very visible from the outside
was in the area of recruitment. Before we listed, securities companies told us, 'Recruitment will become very advantageous,' so I thought that recruitment would become easier and we would get many applications. However, after we listed, applications from very conservative people increased.

Cases where people said, 'I applied because it's a listed company' or 'I applied because there is a sense of security in being listed' increased, and we ended up with many people who did not fit MyFarm's venture management qualities. Even now, I personally interview every single person during recruitment interviews, so it has become a bit of a waste of time. This part was difficult.

The 'excitement' disappeared... The 'MyFarm-ness' lost through listing

――Are there any other things you found difficult after actually listing?

Nishitsuji:
This is something I knew beforehand, and I speak about it knowing it is socially necessary. When you list, you are constantly required to disclose information, and the timing of that information disclosure must be the same for everyone.Both internal staff and general investors.
As a result, internal members would find out about company decisions suddenly one day. Personally, this was the most painful thing for me.

Before listing, we could do things like 'I'll tell the internal members a little bit early' or 'Let's keep it as a surprise,' but we couldn't do that at all, and the excitement decreased.
The feeling of creating something together and being excited about it diminished... That is my honest feeling.

Perhaps there might have been a better way to do it, but I didn't know that in the first year, and it was painful because there was a gap between that and what I personally value.

――'Excitement' is an important part for MyFarm, isn't it?

Nishitsuji:
My policy is 'If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.' I value the attitude of going together because we want to go far.

However, when you are listed, you end up managing while constantly listening to the intentions of shareholders, and it becomes 'If you want to go far, listen to the shareholders.' I thought this was a bit different from my policy.
Of course, in the general society, I think it is correct to listen to the intentions of shareholders. I think all listed companies do that. But it doesn't quite fit my management style.

And perhaps the members working at MyFarm think, 'Let's go far together!', so it is best to keep challenging new things with a venture mindset.

For example, the durian business in Malaysia, or the fact that we have handled our own virtual currency in the past—those kinds of venture-like new challenges absolutely cannot be done when listed. In fact, after listing, the direction tended to be 'Let's do what other companies are doing' or 'Let's have an advantage in comparison with competitors.'

Because of listing, my management policy shifted, and the excitement disappeared, so I think everyone in the company probably felt a bit cramped. I think there were people who felt that the excitement at MyFarm was decreasing, and since I could feel that too, it was very painful. That's how it was.

The next move is "Earth, R&D, and Education"—three keywords to open up the future

—Now that you have delisted, what are the key points you will prioritize for your future growth strategy?

Nishitsuji:
There are several focus areas for the future, but I think I'll narrow it down to about three.

The first keyword is "Earth."
This is something both my team members and I believe in: that the expansion of MyFarm's activities is a good thing for the Earth. Therefore, we need to promote these activities further, and if we are to adopt this concept of the "Earth," we need to go global.
In other words, we need to adopt a strategy where MyFarm's activities are carried out not just in Japan, but all over the world, which is why I have set the keyword "Let's cherish the Earth."

Branching off from "Let's cherish the Earth," we have "Let's maintain the environment" and "Let's stop doing negative things."
For example, regarding "Let's maintain the environment," we have initiatives like creating biotopes in our hands-on farms to protect biodiversity, and for "Let's stop doing negative things," I think it would be great if, for instance, at our agricultural school's training farms, instead of doing the weeding ourselves, we could use solar power to have automated robots do it for us.

In that way, I want to cherish the keyword "Earth" and the "environment" linked to it—that is the first point.

—The first is "Earth." What is the second?

Nishitsuji:
The second focus area is "Research and Development."There is no doubt that agriculture will remain indispensable to us as humans in the future, so I believe we should conduct research and development in agriculture, such as preventing food imbalances and increasing productivity.
So, honestly, I want to do seed R&D and agricultural machinery R&D at MyFarm. It sounds interesting, doesn't it?

—I think many internal members are interested in that. What is the final, third focus area?

Nishitsuji:
The third is the function of a "school."I have always believed that the hands-on farm business and the agricultural school business should be integrated. The world thinks of hands-on farms as places to enjoy growing vegetables, but there must absolutely be "learning" within that enjoyment.
So, for example, we would stop the MyFarm hands-on farm model that focuses on enjoyment. Instead, we would do a light version of an agricultural school within the current hands-on farm business, with the intermediate version being the current Agri-Innovation University, and the full-scale version being an educational corporation like Sapporo Seishu High School, thereby strengthening a "gradation of learning."
This is an idea that would definitely have been scolded and fiercely opposed if we were still listed.

That is because I believe that the educational perspective is missing from agriculture.
Why is it missing? If you look at the history of agriculture, it started with people being forced into grueling food production labor, and a few people holding power.

Even now, in Japanese agriculture, there is a system where agricultural cooperatives (JA) organize individual farmers, have them produce agricultural products according to the country's intentions, and then buy them. It is fine for farmers who have established management strategies to work well with the cooperatives or who utilize them.
However, within that system, there are cases where it becomes a perspective of "laborers" rather than an educational perspective. The historical background for why they don't provide education is that they wanted them to remain laborers.

But I don't think it's that era anymore. Therefore, I think we should eliminate the existence of farmers as a labor class, and
raise the level of education so that "all" farmers can walk on their own two feet.I think those who can do it should incorporate. In that form, I think we should incorporate more of an educational perspective into agriculture.Changing the social structure is important, but it is even more important to empower individuals.

Also,
an educational perspective on agriculture is also necessary for consumers.If we increase our understanding of agriculture and what we eat, I think the problems surrounding agriculture and food that have become topics in recent news and social media will be discussed constructively. You don't have to become a farmer, but I want people to have agricultural experience from an educational perspective that involves real-life experience.

"Don't stop the future of agricultural ventures"—the reason for aiming to be listed again

—After this one year of experience, will you not be listing again in the future? Or...?

Nishitsuji:
I'll start with the answer. We will aim to be listed again.
However, when we list next time, I am thinking, "Let's separate profit-making businesses from non-profit-making businesses." Profit-making businesses are businesses that easily generate profit. Non-profit-making businesses are businesses that are difficult to generate profit from but have social significance and are valued by the company. I intend to divide the company's businesses into these profit-making and non-profit-making businesses and re-list.

—Please tell us the reason for aiming to be listed again.

Nishitsuji:
I believe the wall that MyFarm faced during this listing is a challenge for the entire agricultural industry. Therefore, if we don't overcome this wall and demonstrate results, it will become difficult for agricultural ventures that follow us to emerge.

In fact, other agricultural ventures currently aiming to be listed will undoubtedly look at our financial situation and have a negative impression, thinking, "They have a huge amount of allowance for doubtful accounts recorded." Therefore, I feel a social mission to produce solid results so that they don't think that way.

Also, another reason is that being listed is necessary for future global expansion. By being listed, the company's credibility increases, making it easier to trade with overseas companies and easier to raise the funds necessary for global expansion.

"Break free from the spell of listing!"—toward a strong organization with a sense of excitement

—Is there anything you would like to convey to your internal members as you aim to be listed again?

Nishitsuji:
As we list, creating a mechanism that does not spoil the sense of excitement within the company is an important role for me as a manager.
Among the current members, I think there are some who are used to being listed, so for those people, I want them to have a sense of excitement and work more freely. I want to convey the message to the internal members not to give up on the feeling of excitement or thinking proactively.

There might be people who have lost that sense of excitement or who are working without being aware of how their work contributes to the company, so if there are such people, I want them to stop and think for a moment. I feel that there is little excitement in today's society, so I want MyFarm to convey that excitement.

To challenge difficult things, you need colleagues who are the driving force

—Finally, could you give a message to your stakeholders?

Nishitsuji:
This relates to what I said at the beginning, but since we listed, there have been many voices saying that agriculture is not profitable or that it is difficult. On the other hand, we have also received many voices saying that "agriculture is important."

What I want to convey to all our stakeholders is that we are truly challenging difficult things.
We are not evaluated in the short term, but there are many people who support us. I think it's like an NPO. Just like children's cafeterias, I want it to spread more and I support it, but there are few people who provide money.

This is the fate of a social enterprise, a social venture, but we are a company that faces difficulties and tackles social issues that no one else will. I am truly happy to hear words of support, but just being supported also makes me feel pressure, and at times, I also feel lonely.

That is why I want you to become the driving force that moves the MyFarm ship together with us.
I would like members of the media to cover and share this current situation, and for those who become shareholders, I would love for you to support us through investment. I want those who will work on the business with us to join as partners. Such extensive cooperation is extremely important for our activities.
This also includes my personal feelings, but that is how I feel.

――Thank you very much.

To you who want to build the future of agriculture together

Won't you join us in pioneering the future of agriculture?

As one option for those who want to become our partners, we are also waiting for you at the Agri-Innovation College starting this spring!
More than 2,400 graduates are active as employees or collaborative partners.

To members of the media

MyFarm Inc. aims to realize a society where "self-production and self-consumption"—meaning growing your own food and eating it yourself—is possible. We develop multifaceted businesses related to agriculture, including the operation of experiential farms and agricultural schools, the production, distribution, and sale of agricultural products, and consulting for local governments and corporations. If you are interested in MyFarm, please feel free to contact us.
*We also accept interview requests from newspapers, television, web media, etc., so please feel free to contact us via the link below!

(Updated December 2025)

Latest Financial Results for the 19th Term

We are pleased to announce our latest financial results (19th term).

■ Financial Summary

・Net Sales: 3.22323 billion yen
・Net Income: 44.456 million yen
・Total Assets: 2.100087 billion yen

*19th Term (September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2025)
https://myfarm.co.jp/news/19th-financial-results-2025/