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“Resilient crops”
Development of resilient crops and production technologies

Related Research Program
Food
Country
China Indonesia Viet Nam Philippines Bangladesh Nepal Argentina Uruguay Paraguay Brazil Bolivia

2025-08-08

Background

The frequent occurrence of extreme weather events due to global climate change, environmental degradation caused by rapid population growth, and crop production in marginal areas are destabilizing crop production and threatening global food and nutrition security. Global warming and rapid population growth are further aggravating the global-scale issues, making it difficult to respond to them with conventional breeding strategies. In anticipation of the increasing and accelerating impacts of climate change, it is highly desirable to accelerate the resolution of global-scale issues through new technologies that integrate synthetic bioengineering and big data.

Objectives

We will pave the way for the production of resilience-enhanced crops by developing the necessary technologies to create or produce resilient crops that are resistant to various external disturbances, such as poor environments, mainly targeting major crops such as rice and soybean, and the orphan crop quinoa.

Research Themes

  • Development of technology for resilience enhancement production of high nutrient crops using genetic resources
  • Development of basic technologies for resilience-enhanced crop design
  • Development of breeding infrastructure utilizing untapped genetic and physiological mechanisms related to improved resource use efficiency
  • Development of disease control technology with low environmental impact by utilizing disease resistance

Target Countries

Bolivia, Vietnam, China, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina

Target Beneficiaries

Researchers, producers and consumers of rice, soybean, quinoa and other crops, people in developing regions vulnerable to increased food supply insecurity

Project Leader

NAGATOSHI Yukari (Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division)

Poster

Related Pages

JIRCAS Report

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On Thursday, March 19, 2026, twenty first-year students from Touougakkan Junior & Senior  High School visited JIRCAS to take part in the 27th session of the "Future Science Talent Academy." The school is designated as a Super Science High School (SSH) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and conducts experiential learning through the “Tsukuba Science Tour,” where students experience cutting-edge scientific research. Their visit to JIRCAS was part of this program, giving them an opportunity to learn about global agricultural research and the work of international scientists.

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On Thursday, October 9, 2025, 36 first-year students from the Top Advanced Course and Advanced Course Departments of Sakushin Gakuin High School visited the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) for the 13th session of the Future Science Talent Academy.

Future Science Talent Academy – 15th Session: Students from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi High School Experience Soybean Varieties and Rust Disease Observation

On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, nine students from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi High School visited the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) for the 15th session of the Future Science Talent Academy.

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Press Release

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Event, Symposium

Symposium
Date
(JST)
JIRCAS International Symposium 2024 : Resilient Genetic Resources for Food Security in the Era of Global Boiling – Opportunities and Challenges for Conservation and Utilization
Registration period:
- (JST)
Place
U Thant International Conference Hall + Online 
(United Nations University 3F, 5-53-70 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925)
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Field Information

  • Pick Up

    532. Changes in Virulence of Asian Soybean Rust Pathogen in Bangladesh

    Asian soybean rust is a serious problem in soybean production in tropical and subtropical regions. This disease is also a problem in Bangladesh along with the expansion of domestic production. In this study, we investigated the virulence of the Asian soybean rust against known resistance genes in order to control this disease through the introduction of resistant varieties. The results showed that while the virulence of the pathogenic samples in 2016 was weak and many of the known resistance genes were effective, the virulence of 2018 and 2019 samples changed strongly. They included a strongly virulent rust samples for which seven known resistance genes were completely ineffective. While the introduction of resistant varieties is effective from a cost and environmental impact perspective, the development of resistant varieties using gene-pyramiding to deal with highly virulent rusts is needed to achieve a stable effect of control. 
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Research Highlights

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Article and Publication

2025

2023

2021