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1392. To Develop Rice Plants That Can Withstand Excess Iron in Africa
Iron is an essential element for plants, but in many parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, there is an excess supply of iron, which has a negative impact on the growth of plants, especially rice. This article introduces research aimed at elucidating the mechanism behind this "iron toxicity" and discovering rice genes that are important for healthy rice growth even under such conditions.
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1391. Carbon is a Wonderful Partner for Nitrogen in Protecting the Earth
Now that we can use more fertilizer, we no longer have to worry about food. But it's not all good. If too much fertilizer is added to fields, the reactive nitrogen that plants don't use can pollute rivers and the air, causing various environmental problems. This is becoming more common, so we need to take action quickly. We will introduce a study that investigates whether adding charcoal to soil can keep the nitrogen in fertilizer in the soil for longer, allowing nitrogen to be used without waste.
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1390. Unprecedented Complex Changes in the Deep Ocean
The ocean, Earth's life-support system, is experiencing rapid and widespread changes that extend to its deep layers due to multiple climate-related stressors, including warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and salinity fluctuations. A paper published in Nature Climate Change found that vast areas of the world's oceans are experiencing simultaneous warming, salinity changes (increase or freshening), oxygen depletion, and acidification, providing evidence that climate change is pushing the marine environment into uncharted territory.
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1389. Extreme Heat and Agriculture
Extreme heat is one of the most serious hazards facing agriculture. The true danger of extreme heat is not only the direct losses it causes, but also the role it plays in exacerbating existing vulnerabilities. According to a joint FAO/WMO report, extreme heat damages crops, stresses livestock, depletes fisheries, and increases the risk of wildfires. The impacts of extreme heat are exacerbated when combined with other hazards such as drought, and are predicted to worsen as global warming progresses.
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1388. The Impact of More Severe and Longer-Lasting Droughts
Climate change is bringing about more severe and longer-lasting droughts in many regions around the world. A paper published in Science magazine conducted experiments in grasslands and shrublands around the world and found that ecosystems can adapt to multi-year droughts. However, the paper warned that if drought duration and intensity increase, ecosystems may gradually shift to a state where productivity declines significantly.
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1387. Agreement at COP30
After two weeks of intense negotiations at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the final text (the Mutirão text) consolidated four contentious negotiating tracks, ranging from mitigation to finance to trade barriers, into a single consensus-based agreement.
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1386. The Need to Address the Dual Crises of Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change
The Amazon is one of the Earth's key climate stabilizers, and protecting the rainforest and its biodiversity is essential. An editorial published in BMJ argues that the dual threats of biodiversity loss and climate change have clear implications for human health and should be at the center of discussions at COP30.
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1385. Trying to Make a Case in Africa: “Let the Fields Rest and Enrich the Farmers!”
While Africa is considered one of the world's most promising growth markets, it is also the region with the largest number of people suffering from hunger. One of the causes of hunger is soil degradation. This article introduces research aimed at effectively disseminating the "Fallow Band System" to farmers, which helps protect African soil, stabilize food production, increase farmers' incomes, and reduce hunger and poverty.
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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.