Tottori University: live Japanese experiences and study

Didier SAWADOGO (Burkina Faso)
Ph D student at, United Graduated School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, Japan

Having the chance to study in one of the Japanese universities is a huge privilege, opportunity and a great opening to technology for developing countries. As an agro-economist and research engineer, I was enrolled in JICA's Agri-Net program, which gave me this great opportunity to complete my PhD at this prestigious university in Tottori. This JICA Agri-Net program allows young professionals to build a successful career around training and internships on Japanese agricultural technology and modernization. 

Before my admission to the Ph.D. program in Japan, I have the great opportunity to work with JIRCAS colleagues on some of the activities of the Watershed management project and SATREPS projects on the economic component with Dr. Kobayashi Shintaro from which the results of our research have been satisfactory and thus allowing to further strengthen our collaborations and expand our research challenges.  My success in the Agri Net program was guided by my colleague Dr. Kobayashi Shintaro who guided me in the choice of Japanese universities along with Dr. Nagumo Fujio and Dr. Traoré Mamadou who never stopped encouraging and supporting me during this training program. I would like to thank them in a special and honorable way for their immense support. 

Upon my arrival in Tottori, I was warmly welcome by my laboratory colleague who patiently introduced me to the Japanese life. I am very grateful to him who made enough efforts to make my stay in Tottori city pleasant. I would like to say a big thank you to Prof. Matsumura Ichizen who facilitated my integration and put all the means at my disposal to make my studies pleasant. He opened his laboratory to me and this allowed me to improve my work and refine my academic research and all the students warmly allowed my integration at Tottori University. Moreover, I was very impressed by the staff of the International Affairs Division/Student Exchange Section (IAD) who are always smiling, welcoming and very available to help despite their often busy schedules. My stay is enjoyable thanks to the tireless support and assistance of the IAD and I am always encouraged by them in this friendly and helpful atmosphere for international students. For me, Tottori University remains one of the best universities in Japan. It has a large number of international students every year, which allows and benefits from the cultural exchange. Its library provides a pleasant environment for studying and researching. It is equipped with thousands of books in English and Japanese and the multitude and diversity of books make me spend whole days reading in the library. Punctuality, diligence, respect for hierarchy, and honesty are great values that I have developed through my studies and my professional relationships with Japanese people. I would like to express my immense gratitude to all the staff of Tottori University who have allowed me to immerse myself in cultural activities that have allowed me to learn more about the rich Japanese tradition. Tottori University with its best facilities and equipment and holding a better educational system allowed me to work in a pleasant way and to acquire solid scientific knowledge

Tottori Prefecture is one of the regions of the world I have known. It is a mostly rural prefecture whose coastline is famous for the Tottori sand dunes. One of my favorite things is to discover new places in Tottori City, such as the sea, the Tottori Sand Dunes, the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park and many other places. There are also many things I enjoyed doing such as walking on the beautiful beach of Tottori, riding a bicycle (jitensha) and jogging, learning more about the traditional Japanese culture, anime and making new friends.
Japanese food is also delicious because most of the dishes have a special taste with a variety of recettes. I love Japanese grilled cow meat served with rice and ocha (Japanese tea). I also love 'sushi' but it is very expensive.  The warm Japanese beer (Sake) in the bar (Izagaya) allowed us to warm up against the icy winter of Tottori city. 

My research activities in Ph D consisted of an impact assessment of sustainable land management and fertilizer application on the agricultural productivity of smallholder’s cereal farmers in the northern and central plateau regions in Burkina Faso.  I also analyzed the impact of technical efficiency of fertility techniques on maize production using the stochastic production frontier with selection bias.  

 I would like to express my sincere and deepest thanks to the JICA Agri-Net program which offered me this great opportunity to build a dynamic professional career and a huge experience gained during workshops, seminars and organized trips. I would like also here to avail this opportunity to express my deepest thanks and gratitude for Japan and Japanese people for their kindness and hospitality. My thanks and gratitude are extended to my sponsor “SATREPS” for offering this unique opportunity. 

JICA-AgriNet ; Program of agricultural net-work for food security by JICA