One year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the uncertainty surrounding global food security has increased dramatically. Global food security requires coordinated international efforts to avoid supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical factors, and technical assistance in regions where food crop productivity is stagnant is of critical importance.

Dr. Marcy N. WILDER, Project Leader of the Fisheries Division, has been selected by the Association of Japanese Agricultural Scientific Societies to receive the 2023 Japan Prize of Agricultural Science / Yomiuri Prize of Agricultural Science. The award is recognized as the highest honor given to agricultural science researchers in Japan.

According to reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and a World Bank blog, international food prices have calmed down from last year's peak, but domestic prices for food remain high around the world and inflation is being recorded in many countries.

Until now, negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have focused on two strategies: mitigation and adaptation to climate change. However, "too little, too slow" in responding to climate change has necessitated a third negotiation: loss and damage (L&D). The article, "Responding to loss and damage in food systems," recently published in Nature Food, emphasized the need for a long-term perspective that is more in line with the needs on the ground, rather than a crisis-by-crisis humanitarian response.

On February 8, the heads of five international organizations issued a joint statement expressing support for the victims of the recent earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, while sounding the alarm about the deteriorating environment surrounding poverty and food security worldwide. The statement called for a balanced response that takes into account both emergency relief and long-term resilience-building efforts, such as "hunger hotspot" relief and trade promotion.

In sub-Saharan Africa, crop productivity is low, and food shortages are chronic. JIRCAS has established a technology to produce phosphate-added soil compost using materials available to small-scale farmers in the region. We have also demonstrated that using phosphate rock-rhizosphere soil-added compost not only increases yields on a par with chemical fertilizers but also improves the biological and chemical properties of the soil. This achievement is expected to be an effective technology against the sharp rise in global fertilizer prices.

The European Union (EU), known for its passionate commitment to environmental issues, has stated its goal of restoring soil health in Europe and beyond. Maintaining soil health is important for a sustainable society, but how to achieve it is the challenge. In this issue, we would like to introduce the challenges facing soil diversity conservation from the article “Soil biodiversity needs policy without borders” published in Science.

February 3 is "Soybean Day”. It is set on February 3, which is often the day of the Setsubun festival. As part of the celebration, soybeans are scattered to drive away evil spirits and people eat as many soybeans as their age to pray for good health and good fortune. Today, we introduce the situation of soybeans in Japan and abroad, as well as soybean research at JIRCAS.

Among the world's polycrisis, the water crisis is the most urgent, and an article in Nature called for research to help solve the water crisis. In the context of the SDGs, the water-centered goal is SDG 6 “Clean water and sanitation” but water is also critical to achieving the food security goal - SDG 2 "Zero hunger”.