Global Initiatives

International Events

G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS)

The G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (G20-MACS), an initiative with the goal of identifying global research priorities and targets and facilitating collaboration between institutions, was held in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina on May 28-30, 2018. NARO Vice-President, Dr. Atsuro Matsuda, and representatives from MAFF and JIRCAS joined approximately 60 delegates from the G20 members. The meeting included presentations and group discussions on genome editing, the impact of climate change on agricultural production, and sustainable soil management, which were then used in developing a communique of G20 Argentina 2018 7th Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS). A technical visit to the Research Institute for Family Farmers (IPAF), National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) of Argentina was held on the first day. As Japan is hosting the G20 MACS next year, an introduction of Japan's G20 Presidency and research activities at NARO and JIRCAS was presented at the concluding part of the meeting.

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Second Scientific Meeting on Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) between RRL and NIAH/NARO

The 2nd Scientific Meeting on Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) between the Regional Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Southeast Asia (RRL) based in Thailand and the Exotic Disease Research Station, National Institute of Animal Health, NARO (NIAH) was held on Feb 15-16, 2018 in Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan. The RRL and NIAH/NARO have more than 50 years history of research and technology exchange related to animal health and the MOU for joint research collaboration was concluded in 2012. The meeting focused on the current status of FMD research in Japan and Southeast Asia including presentations from the Center for Animal Disease Control (CADIC) of Miyazaki University, and Animal Quarantine Service (AQS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). The next scientific meeting will be held at RRL in Pakchong, Thailand in 2019.

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Strawberry Production in Japan

The NARO International Symposium on "Strawberry Production in Japan" was organized by Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO (NIVFS) at the WINC Aichi conference room at Nagoya, Aichi on February 13, 2018. The symposium focused on the present status of strawberry production in Japan and East Asia. The speakers included Dr. Yuji Noguchi (NIVFS), Dr. T?ru Ikari (Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Agriculture and Forestry), Dr. Yuichi Yoshida (Okayama University) and Dr. Kenji Kori (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). The international speakers included Dr. Yeoung Young Rog of South Korea and Dr. Jiajun Lei of China gave presentation about the strawberry productions in their respective countries.

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Exploring avenues for collaboration between the World Vegetable Center and NARO

The Director General of the World Vegetable Center, Dr. Marco Wopereis gave a talk entitled "Exploring avenues for collaboration between the World Vegetable Center and NARO" at the Tsukuba Agriculture Research Hall Orientation Room on January 31, 2018 in conjunction with his visit to the NARO Headquarters. A total of 37 participants attended the seminar including 13 participants from the Anou Vegetable Research Station of the Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science in Mie Prefecture connected via video conference system. Dr. Wopereis talked about various research initiatives at the World Vegetable Center focusing on breeding of improved vegetable varieties, safe production practices and nutritional values of vegetable crops.

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MINCERnet: Multi-site monitoring network to cope with the heat stress of rice under climate change

The NARO-MARCO Symposium under the theme "MINCERnet: Multi-site monitoring network to cope with the heat stress of rice under climate change" was organized by Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO (NIAES) and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) at the International Congress Center (Epochal), Tsukuba on January 26, 2018. In this symposium, the MINCERnet collaborators gave presentations on the current status of the canopy thermal environment monitoring and various perspectives on heat-induced spikelet sterility (HISS) with discussions on ongoing and future research plans, and collaborative strategies to evaluate the effectiveness of promising adaptation measures such as introducing heat tolerant varieties and heat avoidance due to early-morning flowering trait among varied climates. Participants include representatives from China, USA, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ghana and Japan. Symposium website here.

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FFTC-NARO Seminar on Enhancing Farm Management Efficiency by ICT for Young Farmers

The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) and the Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Sciences, NARO (NIVFS) jointly organized a seminar on "Enhancing Farm Management Efficiency by ICT for Young Farmers" at the Tsukuba International Congress Center (Epochal) on October 3 and 4, 2017. The keynote lectures were presented by Dr. Seishi Ninomiya (University of Tokyo, Japan), Dr. Amots Hetzroni (ARO, Israel) and Dr. Sang-Cheol Kim (RDA, Korea) followed by sessions focusing on field servers, public and private ICT initiatives, and UECS technology in Japan. Representatives from Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan presented country reports on the current status of ICT in the agricultural sector.

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NARO International Symposium: Elucidation of biological functions using innovative technologies towards the creation of new industries

The NARO International Symposium on "Elucidation of biological functions using innovative technologies towards the creation of new industries" was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center (Conference Room 201) on November 22, 2017. The speakers included Dr. Emilio Rodriguez-Cerezo (European Commission, Joint Research Centre), Dr. Stanton B. Gelvin (Purdue University), Dr. Frantisek Marec (Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre CAS) Dr. Heiner Niemann (Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut), Dr. Yutaka Tabei (NIAS) and Dr. Keiko Kadono-Okuda (NIAS). The symposium was organized by the Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO (NIAS).

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NARO International Symposium: Future prospects of control measures for plant disease and insect pests for stable sustainable crop protection

The NARO International Symposium on "Future prospects of control measures for plant disease and insect pests for stable sustainable crop protection" was held at the Norin Hall, Tsukuba Business-Academia Cooperation Support Center, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on September 29, 2017. The speakers included Prof. Dr. Johannes A. Jehle (Julius Kuhn-Institut, Germany), Dr. Roger N. Beachy (Washington University), Dr. Diane E. Ullman (University of California at Davis), Dr. Kazuro Ohno (University of Miyazaki), Dr. Yuichiro Watanabe (University of Tokyo), Dr. Ryo Nakano (NIFTS), and Dr. Yuichiro Iida (NIVFS). The symposium was organized by the Central Region Agricultural Center, NARO (CARC/NARO).

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NARO International Symposium: Status and Prospects of Livestock Studies

The NARO International Symposium on "Status and Prospects of Livestock Studies" was held at the Norin Hall, Tsukuba Business-Academia Cooperation Support Center, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on September 21, 2017. The speakers included Dr. Ron Ronimus (Senior Research Scientist, AgResearch, New Zealand), Mr. Keith Betteridge (Former Research Scientist, AgResearch, New Zealand), Dr. Jong Geun Kim (Assistant Professor, Seoul National University), Dr. Naoto Ishikawa (Assistant Professor, University of Tsukuba), Dr. Atsuo Ikeguchi (Professor, Utsunomiya University) and Dr. Yuji Hirao (Leader of the Embryo Production Research Unit, NILGS). The symposium was organized by the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO (NILGS).


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International Symposium on "Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) in collaboration with the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) jointly organized an international symposium on "Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Mitigation" on August 31, 2017 at the Tsukuba International Congress Center. The symposium was organized in conjunction with the 2017 GRA Council meeting which will be held during August 29-30, 2017. The objectives included exchanging the status quo of problems and the latest results of studies on agricultural greenhouse gas emissions for mitigating climate change while sustaining production, in particular those in Asian countries and discussing the direction of future research and ways to strengthen collaboration to meet the challenges within the framework of the GRA. Symposium website here.

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Seminar Training Course on "Adopting Smart Beef Cattle Feeding Techniques"

The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) in collaboration with the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Thailand's Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) organized a seminar training course on "Adopting Smart Beef Cattle Feeding Techniques" at SUT on June 2-4, 2017. The objectives included (1) conducting training for regional livestock farmers on the design of feed composition contributing to the environmental sustainability in their own language, (2) bringing together key researchers and share the current state of knowledge on beef cattle feeding technologies, especially for beef quality improvement and productivity, and (3) establishing an informal network committed to information sharing and collaborative research. Representatives from Thailand, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia gave oral presentations to about 150 participants that included beef cattle farmers in Thailand. Dr. Takashi Nagai (Head of NARO's International Relations Office) participated as chair person and Dr. Osamu Enishi (Head of Planning and Promotion Section of Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science) gave a talk on the feeding management of beef cattle in Japan.

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Soil Carbon Sequestration: Needs and Prospects Under the 4 per 1000 Initiative

The NARO-MARCO International Symposium under the theme "Soil Carbon Sequestration - Needs and prospects under the 4 per 1000 initiative" was held on February 28, 2017 at Tsukuba International Congress Center. The symposium aimed to provide a venue to enhance research, research cooperation, and collaboration on soil carbon and greenhouse gas mitigation in agricultural systems across Asian countries and beyond, in conjunction with the 4 per 1000 initiative. The keynote talk was given by Dr. Claire Chenu of the Agro Paris Tech/INRA in France. Other speakers include Dr. Minggang Xu (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science), Dr. Suphakarn Luanmanee (Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand), Dr. Cherukumalli Srinivasa Rao (Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, India), Dr. Hideo Kubotera (Central Region Agricultural Research Center, NARO), Dr. Shoji Matsuura (Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO), Dr. Yasuhito Shirato (Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO), Dr. Jagadeesh Yeluripati (James Hutton Institute, UK), Dr. Akihiko Ito (National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan), and Dr. Mayumi Yoshimoto (Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO). The symposium also aimed to establish a research network of long-term agricultural field experiments among Asian countries. Symposium website here.

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International Symposium: Perspective on the Utilization of Insects for Feed and Food

In order to promote the utilization of insects and raise global awareness on the potential of insects in diversifying diets and improving food security, an international symposium on "Perspective on the Utilization of Insects for Feed and Food" was held at the Hibiya Convention Hall, Tokyo on November 29, 2016. The symposium was organized by NARO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and co-organized by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (JFREA). The speakers included Charles Boliko (Director, FAO Liaison Office in Japan), Glen Courtright (President & Founder of EnviroFlight, LLC, USA), Teun Veldkamp (Senior Researcher, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, Netherlands), Kenichi Nonaka (Professor, Rikkyo University), Takeshi Miura (Professor, Ehime University), Atsushi Nishimoto (NRIFS), Satoshi Nakamura (JIRCAS), and Nobuhiko Nakashima (NIAS). A total of 172 participants from various sectors attended the symposium. Symposium website here.

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Japan-Israel Bilateral Symposium on Agricultural Cooperation

The NARO-ARO Bilateral Symposium focusing on "Japan-Israel Collaborative Integration of Advanced Water Use Technologies for Horticulture Production" was held at the Tsukuba Center for Institutes on November 28, 2016. The symposium was organized by NARO and MAFF in collaboration with Israel's Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) and theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The speakers included Dr. Avi Perl (MARD), Dr. Daniel Kurtzman (Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO), Dr. Koji Hamada (Institute of Rural Engineering, NARO), Dr. Dror Minz (Institute for Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO), Dr. Josef Tanny (Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, ARO), Dr. Hiroki Umeda (Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO), Dr. Hidekazu Sasaki (Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO), Dr. Yasunaga Iwasaki (Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO), and Mr. Fujio Tagawa (Netafim Japan Co., Ltd.).

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Advanced Breeding Methods for Stress-tolerant Food Crops

The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) in collaboration with the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and NARO organized a seminar on "Advanced Breeding Methods for Stress-tolerant Food Crops" at the JIRCAS Headquarters on November 24-25, 2016. The seminar aimed to bring together key researchers on crop breeding for stress tolerance, share the current state of knowledge of advanced crop breeding methods, and establish an informal network committed to information sharing and collaborative research. The participants included representatives from Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Japan. Details here.

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IAEA/FAO-NARO Technical Workshop on Remediation of Radioactive Contamination in Agriculture

The year 2016 marks the 5th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant (NPP) and the 30th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl NPP, both of which were classified as Level 7 (major accident), the highest level in the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On this occasion, a Technical Workshop on Remediation of Radioactive Contamination in Agriculture was hosted by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in collaboration with Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) on October 17-18, 2016 at the Vienna International Centre, IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. The main objective of this workshop was to promote and share knowledge in order to improve the understanding of remediation of radioactive contamination among authorities and organizations responsible for food and agriculture, nuclear safety, emergency planning and disaster response, and facilitate future policy developments and research planning. The signing of the Practical Arrangement between FAO/IAEA and NARO was also officiated to promote research collaborations. The workshop included presentations and discussions on radioactive contamination of the nuclear accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima by the delegates from FAO/IAEA and NARO, as well as experts on radioactivity from all over the world. Details here.

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Seminar and Open Forum on INRA Research Organization

A seminar focusing on the operational policy, operational procedures, and research policies covering agriculture, food, bio-technology, and environmental sectors of the National Institute for Agricultural Research of France (INRA) was presented by Dr. Robert Habib, head of INRA International Affairs on September 28, 2016 at the Orientation Room, Tsukuba Agriculture Research Hall of the NARO Headquarters. The seminar was attended by the NARO Executive Board, Director-Generals of NARO Institutes and Research Centers, Mr. Cedric Guillerme of the Office for Science and Technology, Embassy of France in Japan, and Dr. Takehiro Okubo, Director for International Research of the Agriculture, Foresty and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat, MAFF. The event was also highlighted by the signing of MOU between INRA and NARO to promote collaboration in various research areas. An open forum was held on September 29, 2016 attended by the NARO Executive Board, Director-Generals and Directors.

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IRRI・JIRCAS・NARO Joint Symposium:Towards achieving sustainable rice production in Asia

An international symposium was organised by NARO in cooperation with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Japan International Research Center for Agriculture Science (JIRCAS) as part of the Trilateral Committee for Promoting Research Cooperation on Rice to address problems affecting rice production particularly in the Asian region. The symposium was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Epochal on September 7-8, 2016. The symposium provided an overview of the current situation in rice research focusing high temperature tolerance, yield physiology and pest management with presentations from researchers of IRRI, JIRCAS, NARO, National Research Institute of Brewing and Kyushu University. A total of 108 participants attended the 2-day symposium. Symposium website here.

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NARO・JIRCAS・FFTC Joint Workshop: Mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to climate change in livestock production systems

A workshop with the theme "Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases and Adaptation to Climate Change in Livestock Production Systems" was co-organized by NARO with the Food and Fertiliser Technology Center (FFTC) and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) at the Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka on August 23, 2016 in conjunction with the 17th AAAP Animal Science Congress. The workshop aimed at providing insights on how to properly manage GHG emissions from livestock production systems and how to undertake the challenge for generating future mitigating strategies from livestock production systems. The plenary session consisted of talks from Dr. Harry Clark of the New Zealand Grassland Research Center and Dr. Christopher Mcsweeney of CSIRO, country reports from Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam, presentations from researchers of the Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO. The workshop was organized by Dr. Akio Takenaka, FFTC Deputy Director.

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Previous Meetings Organized ・Co-organized by NARO

The 7th Crop Science Seminar in East Asia
October 28-29, 2014

The institutes of crop science in Japan, China and Korea take turns to host the Crop Science Seminar in East Asia. In 2014, NICS hosted the seminar at the Hokkaido Citizens Activities Center Sapporo with the theme "Breeding Technology in Rice and Upland Crops--From Genetic Resources to Breeding".

NARO/HARC International Seminar on Molecular Biology for Stress Tolerances in Rice and Upland Crops
October 29-30, 2014

An international seminar on stress tolerances in rice and upland crops was held at Sapporo just after the "The 7th East Asia Crop Science Seminar" hosted by NARO Institute of Crop Science. The purpose of the seminar was to promote international research collaboration on enhancements of stress tolerances in crops plants among three countries including Japan, China and Korea through presenting the current achievements and exchanging ideas.

Symposium on Promotion of Agribusiness through Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration
January 22, 2014

The Netherlands is the world's second largest exporter of agricultural and food products, and is home to one of the epicenters of research in the area of agri-food, through collaboration between the food production industries and research institutes in its so-called 'Food Valley' region. With this model in mind, this NARO symposium was aimed at discussing strategies to enhance such collaboration in Japan.
The symposium consisted of lectures by Prof. Dr. Martin Kropff of Wageningen UR in the Netherlands and four Japanese leaders of industry-academia-government collaboration in the agri-food sector and a panel discussion on the enhancement of agribusiness in Japan.

Centers・Institutes