The Tropical Agriculture Research Center (TARC) has contributed to the solution of some of the technical difficulties, which tropical countries are facing in their effort to enhance agricultural production, through collaborative research carried out with institutes of a particular country or with international institutes for wider regional problems. The research on animal production has been intensified along with the accumulation of experience and technology adapted to the tropical conditions, for the last two decades since TARC's establishment in 1970. TARC, in cooperation with three related national institutes in Japan, places emphasis on the following aspects : (1) Prevention of diseases prevalent in the tropics, (2) Evaluation of tropical pastures and improvement of natural grasslands, (3) Evaluation of animal performance and improvement of genetic potential of local breeds, and (4) Improvement of animal nutrition and development of feed resources. This paper reviews the studies already carried out, and indicates the strategy of TARC, with special reference to the fields of animal nutrition and feed resources. In the tropics, the low productivity of ruminants is closely related to the low nutrient status of the animals associated with the limited availability of feed of low quality. Therefore, in future, research on animal nutrition should place emphasis on the following objectives : (1) Development of non-conventional feed resources such as crop residues and by-products, (2) Development of methods of storage of roughages to be used in the season when there is a shortage of feed, and (3) Enhancement of nutrient utilization of feed for the production of meat and milk.