Today is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared September 28 as the International Day for Universal Access to Information, and it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2019. Universal access to information is defined as the right of all people to seek, receive and impart information. Information is power and universal access to information is the foundation for a healthy and inclusive knowledge society.

Information on international agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, which JIRCAS is promoting research on, is provided by international organizations, including the FAOSTAT, an online statistical database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with databases related to agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in general, food aid, land use, and population statistics that can be easily accessed and downloaded from smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Strengthening function as an international hub for providing strategic information on agriculture, forestry and fisheries is one of the pillars of the JIRCAS 5th Medium to Long-term Plan (FY2021-2025) which began in April 2021. In order to collect and analyze information on the increasingly complex and diverse agriculture, forestry, and fisheries of developing and tropical subtropical regions, as well as issues and development needs related to the global food system, and to disseminate this information widely both domestically and internationally, we have launched the “Strategic information hub for international agricultural research” (Information hub) project within the Information Program. The project will collect and analyze information from various perspectives and disseminate it widely both domestically and internationally.

In order to promote the transition to a healthy and sustainable global food system for both the earth and humankind, comprehensive information linking socio-economics, food nutrition, and technological development is necessary. The “Information hub” project systematically organizes information on international agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and aims to deliver it effectively to the target audience through the use of dashboards and the creation of original content. In addition to the analysis of these trends, we are also working on the development of models that can evaluate the global agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, including the evaluation of agricultural technology systems and the development of economic evaluation models to assess environmental impacts.

JIRCAS is committed in establishing itself as an opinion leader on global environmental and food issues, and as the foremost intelligence center in Japan.

Contributor: KANAMORI Norihito (Project Leader, Information Hub)