Information Analysis
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1384. Release of Archives: Japan Award2025 and JIRCAS International Symposium 2025
On Monday, October 27, 2025,the 2025 (19th) Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers (Japan Award) , sponsored by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025 "Accelerating Application of Agricultural Technologies in the Asia-Monsoon Region: Taking Stock and the Way Forward for Enhancing Production Potentials and Sustainable Food Systems" were held in a hybrid format at the Hitotsubashi Auditorium. Archived videos of both events have now been made available on the YouTube "JIRCAS Channel.
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1383. Ultra-Long-Term Outlook on the World’s Food Supply and Demand Through 2060
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan has published in its website “Ultra-Long-Term Outlook on the World’s Food Supply and Demand Through 2060,” which was produced using the world food model developed by JIRCAS and the National Agriculture and food Research Organization (NARO).
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1382. Recent Fertilizer Market Trends
According to the FAO Food Outlook report, in the recent global fertilizer market, fertilizer use increased by 6% in 2024 due to lower fertilizer prices after two years of decline, including a price spike in 2022. While price levels increased by 19% from January to October 2025, the current increase in fertilizer production costs is slower than at previous peaks, due in part to improved structural resilience in fertilizer production, including the import of raw materials from low-cost regions.
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1381. Breakthrough in Food Waste Management
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, a new initiative was announced to halve food waste and reduce methane emissions by up to 7% by 2030 as part of efforts to curb climate change.
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1380. Trends in Export Restrictions on Major Crops
In a highly interdependent global agri-food system, export restrictions on major crops can increase uncertainty and price pressures for import-dependent countries. The OECD and the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) have published an updated database of export restrictions on major crops since January 2007, contributing to maintaining transparency in global trade markets.
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1379. Emissions Gap in 2025
According to the "Emissions Gap Report 2025" published by the United Nations Environment Programme, global warming this century is projected to reach 2.3-2.5°C with the full implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and 2.8°C under current policies.
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1378. Ocean Routes (“Kaijo no Michi”) and Technology Dissemination (Takaragawa’s Newsletter vol. 10)
YANAGITA Kunio, often called the father of Japanese folklore studies, proposed the “Kaijo no Michi (Ocean Route)” theory suggesting that the Japanese migrated across the sea, drawing on references such as Okinawa's cowries and the coconut palms at Cape Irako in Aichi Prefecture. His analysis that rice seeds and cultivation techniques spread together may offer insights into efficiently disseminating developed technologies like crop varieties and cultivation methods.
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1377. World Food Price Trends, October 2025
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its World Food Price Trends report on November 7. The average for October 2025 was 126.4 points, down 1.6% from the revised September figure of 128.5 points, marking the second consecutive month of decline. Declines in the price indexes for cereals, dairy products, meat, and sugar offset the rise in the vegetable oil index. Overall, the price index remained slightly below its October 2024 level and 21.1% below its peak in March 2022.
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1376. Copernicus: 2025 on Track to be the Third-Warmest October on Record
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), October 2025 will be the third-warmest October on record globally, with an average surface temperature of 15.14°C, 1.55°C higher than the estimated pre-industrial average from 1850 to 1900, and the first time it has exceeded 1.50°C since April 2025. 2025 is almost certain to be either the second or third warmest year on record.
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1375. 10 Insights from Climate Research
UNFCCC COP30 will be held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10th to 21st. Marking 20 years since the Kyoto Protocol came into force and 10 years since the Paris Agreement was adopted, participants will review the implementation status of past agreements and discuss new goals and initiatives. Research organizations such as Future Earth have announced 10 key points for policymaking, warning that the weakening of terrestrial carbon sinks, particularly forests and soils in the Northern Hemisphere, could disrupt current emissions projections and accelerate global warming.
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1374. Extreme Heat and Heavy Rainfall in Okinawa (Takaragawa’s Newsletter vol. 9)
September and October in the Okinawa region have recorded the highest temperatures in recorded history. Such abnormal heat has triggered extreme rainfall and drought, significantly impacting not only the current season's production of sugarcane and tropical fruit trees but also future harvests.
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1373. JIRCAS International Symposium 2025 Held
On October 27, 2025, the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025, titled "Accelerating Application of Agricultural Technologies in the Asia-Monsoon Region: Taking Stock and the Way Forward for Enhancing Production Potentials and Sustainable Food Systems," took place at Hitotsubashi Hall in Tokyo.
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1372. Toward Eradicating Rural Poverty
Poverty remains overwhelmingly concentrated in rural areas. Improving agricultural productivity is fundamental to poverty reduction and must be promoted in tandem with diversification into non-agricultural activities such as agribusiness, tourism, and the green and digital economies.
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1371. Lancet Countdown 2025
Climate change is increasingly destabilizing the earth systems and environmental conditions that support human survival. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change's 2025 report warned that health threats from climate change are reaching unprecedented levels.
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1370. 2025 Climate Report: A Planet on the Brink
On October 29, BioScience published the 2025 Climate Report: A Planet on the Brink, sounding the alarm that the impacts of human-induced climate change are no longer a future threat, but a real reality.
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1369. The Current State of Climate Action
According to the latest "State of Climate Action 2025" report, compiled by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and others, global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance carbon removal are not being implemented at the pace and scale necessary to achieve the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement. Below are 10 key points from the "State of Climate Action" report.
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1368. Potential for Sustainable Paddy Rice Farming Systems
In paddy soils, microbially mediated redox cycling processes driven by water and soil management are believed to control the dynamics of soil minerals and soil organic matter. Toward the establishment of sustainable paddy rice farming systems, evidence is needed on practices that can increase rice yields while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as knowledge on the biogeochemical processes that shape specific paddy soils in the short and long term.
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1367. JIRCAS International Symposium 2025
The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) will hold the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025, "Accelerating Application of Agricultural Technologies in the Asia-Monsoon Region: Taking Stock and the Way Forward for Enhancing Production Potentials and Sustainable Food Systems" today, Monday, October 27, 2025, at the Hitotsubashi Auditorium (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) starting at 1:30 PM.
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1366. World Development Information Day
October 24th is World Development Information Day, which provides an opportunity to consider ways to use information to reduce poverty, promote education, and address environmental issues. At the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025, to be held next Monday, October 27th, we will present the achievements of the Green Asia Project, which has been promoting information dissemination aimed at transforming food systems in the Asian monsoon region. We will also discuss the needs to be addressed in the next phase of the project and the lessons that may be applicable to other regions.
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1365. The Pace of Deforestation is Slowing
Deforestation refers to the loss of forests or their conversion to other uses, such as urban areas or wasteland. Since 1990, approximately 500 million hectares (ha) of forests (equivalent to approximately 750 million football fields) have been lost. However, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the rate of deforestation has slowed in all regions of the world over the past decade.