Strengthening function as an international hub for providing strategic information on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and mobilizing new research partnerships
On December 20, 2024 (Friday), six students from the Department of International Agricultural Development at Tokyo University of Agriculture visited JIRCAS as part of their seminar activities with the Rural Development Cooperation Research Laboratory. The visit began with an introduction to the research activities of JIRCAS, followed by lectures from several researchers and a tour of the facilities.
Archived videos of the JIRCAS International Symposium 2024 and Japan Award 2024 are available on the JIRCAS YouTube channel. If you missed it, please take a look.
Higher-than-average temperatures can lead to reduced average crop yields as well as increased crop yield variability by exacerbating hot and dry conditions if production systems are unable to mitigate the effects of these stresses. The Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) has published an article on the importance of monitoring the impact of climate risks on crop yield variability.
According to a study on the latest global warming indicators published in Earth System Science Data, the warming observed in the 10-year period from 2015 to 2024 compared to 1850 to 1900 is 1.24 °C, of which 1.22 °C is due to human factors.
To respond to climate change and achieve sustainable food production, we need to strengthen resilience to adverse environments. Researchers have been working on crop stress tolerance to evaluate resilience under single stress conditions and to improve its genetics. However, in actual farmland, growth and yield are often limited when crops are grown under multi-stress conditions, a combination of stresses rather than a single stress. Although there is a strong need for research on multi-stress tolerance, it is very challenging for researchers because of the complexity of experimental systems, and it is desirable to solve technical problems such as improving phenotyping techniques and estimating plasticity.
To understand sustainable gastronomy, it is necessary to examine food production and consumption from the perspective of biodiversity, water, and climate change (planetary health), as well as food and health (human health), within the context of the food system.
June 17th is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2025, and this year we will highlight the potential of land restoration. However, land restoration requires scientific knowledge of the local climate, environment, and soil conditions, and there are many difficult challenges to address. As an example, we will introduce the issue of salt-damaged farmland in the world's drylands.