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694. International Year of Millets 2023

The United Nations has designated 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM2023). Millet is a crop that grows better in arid lands and is more tolerant of climatic changes than other cereals. Furthermore, millet is also called "nutri-cereal" due to its high nutritional value, and is attracting attention.

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693. The Role of International Cooperation in Ozone Layer Recovery

On January 9, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society that the ozone layer over the Antarctic is recovering, and that efforts to restore the ozone layer initiated by the 1987 Montreal Protocol have been successful, with the phase out of nearly 99% of the banned ozone-depleting substances. If current policies are maintained, the ozone level is expected to recover to 1980 values by around 2066 over the Antarctic and these efforts are also expected to contribute to global warming mitigation.
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692. December 2022 World Food Price Index 

On January 6, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its latest World Food Price Index, showing that December 2022 was the ninth consecutive month of decline and 1.0% lower than a year ago. However, for the year 2022 as a whole, the food price index is 14.3% higher than in 2021.

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691. Record High Temperatures in Europe During the New Year Holidays

The cold air over the northern and western Japan during the year-end and New Year's holidays has made the wind feel colder than usual, even in the Kanto region, where sunny days continue. On the other hand, many areas in Europe are said to have had record warm New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with temperatures reaching nearly 20°C (68°F). The impact of climate change on this high temperature will be scientifically verified, but the actual experience of weather phenomena outside the norm is likely to contribute to increased awareness of climate change countermeasures.
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690. Cost to Reconfigure the Food System

Rebuilding the food system into a resilient and sustainable system is constrained by limited information on the amount of investment needed globally. A paper recently published in Global Food Security attempted to estimate the costs required to rebuild the food system. The paper estimated the total cost of food system transformation at USD 1.3 ± 0.1 trillion per year, showing that the seemingly enormous cost is only equivalent to 7% of the negative environmental and health externalities that the current food system causes each year, and that the benefits from action are significant.

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689. Welcome 2023

In Nature journal's list of notable science news for 2023, the topic of reconciling the interests of developing and developed countries in the run-up to COP28, scheduled to be held in Dubai, was mentioned in relation to climate change. In order to realize international collaboration, it is necessary to have science-policy dialogue to recognize the diversity of the world's food and agriculture systems and to apply science and technology approaches that are tailored to the circumstances of each country and region. In 2023, Pick Up will continue to disseminate information on food systems as a global challenge.

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688. Looking Back at Year 2022

The Nature journal listed the invasion of Ukraine by Russia as the biggest news story of 2022, as well as other topics in the climate and environment field, including the agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Egypt in November, the agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Canada in December, and the The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was concluded at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in Canada in December.
 
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687. Top Pick Up Articles in FY2022

As we approach the end of this year, today we would like to take a look back at the year 2022 with a ranking of the most popular PickUp articles published in FY2022.
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686. Factors Contributing to Increased Atmospheric Methane Concentrations during Lockdown Period

Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, yet atmospheric methane concentrations today are nearly three times higher than pre-industrial levels. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a standstill, atmospheric methane concentrations reached record levels. The paper, now published in Nature, pointed to the possibility that warm, wet weather in the Northern Hemisphere and, ironically, a lockdown to contain the pandemic, slowed the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere that break down methane, as the background.
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685. Soil Biodiversity

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which concluded on December 19, agreed on the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework," which includes targets for the conservation of 30% of terrestrial and marine biodiversity.The relevant COP15 document, “Biodiversity and agriculture" focused on soil biodiversity as a determinant of healthy functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and emphasized its importance in the functioning of sustainable agri-food systems in food and nutrition security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and achieving sustainable goals.
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684. World Food and Agriculture Statistics

It is recognized that today's food system is far from providing food that is environmentally sustainable and conducive to health in a fair manner for all people, and the global trend is to seek solutions through innovation. At the same time, the state of the world's agriculture is extremely diverse, and there is no one-size-fits-all technology or solution, so it is necessary to constantly update information on the diverse state of the world's agriculture in order to formulate strategies. Today’s Pick up highlight some statistics on global food and agriculture from the introductory page of the FAO Statistical Pocketbook World Food and Agriculture 2022.
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683. Historic International Agreement on Biodiversity Conservation

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Montreal, Canada since December 7, closed on December 19, and a landmark "30 by 30" commitment was reached to protect 30% of the planet’s lands, coastal areas and inland waters by 2030 has been hailed as comparable to the Paris Agreement on climate. As for the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector, the commitment to contribute to the long-term resilience and efficiency of production systems through sustainable use of biodiversity and innovative approaches was called for, and it also included cutting food waste in half.
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682. Seminar "The application of science and traditional knowledge to foster the utilization of foods obtained from local landscapes for improved nutrition and livelihoods" Report

The hybrid seminar "The application of science and traditional knowledge to foster the utilization of foods obtained from local landscapes for improved nutrition and livelihoods" was successfully held last December 12. The seminar featured presentations by experts in the field of traditional and local food use promotion, genetic resource conservation, and utilization in Africa and Asia that contribute to improved nutrition and incomes. A lively discussion ensued with participants on how to maximize the potential of local food diversity in meeting the nutritional, environmental, and economic needs of the target communities while conserving the diversity of genetic resources and cultural values.

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681. JIRCAS Affiliated Researcher SAITO Kazuki Receives 21st Century Hope Prize of 7th Niigata International Food Award

The commendation ceremony and commemorative lectures of the awardees of the 7th Niigata International Food Award were held at the International Conference Hall of the Niigata Convention Center, Toki Messe, Niigata City on November 29, 2022. The award is given to those who have made efforts to solve problems in the field of food and agriculture, and Dr. SAITO Kazuki, an affiliated researcher of JIRCAS, received the 21st Century Hope Award.
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680. Five Major Factors Affecting Biodiversity

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity is currently underway, and it is reported that world leaders are in talks to reach an agreement to reverse the loss of biodiversity. Today, we will review the five major causes of the nature crisis and biodiversity loss.

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679. November 2022 World Food Price Index 

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its World Food Index in early December, with November 2022 values averaging 135.7 points, with most sub-indices showing monthly declines except vegetable oil and sugar, offsetting price increases in vegetable oil and sugar, and little change overall. Although international prices have calmed down compared to a brief period, according to the World Bank, food price inflation has been reported in many countries around the world.

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678. Global Nutrition Report 2022: Stronger Commitments for Greater Action

The 2022 Global Nutrition Report was published this month with a comprehensive assessment of the commitments made at last year's Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit.

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677. Environmental Impacts of Food Production

Food production accounts for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses 70% of the world's freshwater withdrawals, so what we eat and how we produce has a significant impact on achieving climate change action, water stress and pollution reduction, land restoration, and global wildlife protection. The European Union's agreement to legislate food regulations that lead to deforestation and degradation in the EU market has been reported in the press and is expected to influence the strategies of countries and regions around the world.
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676. JICA-JISNAS Forum on "Global Trends in Food Security and Human Resource Development in Universities and Faculties of Agricultural Sciences"

The 11th JICA-JISNAS Forum on "Global Trends in Food Security and Human Resource Development in Agricultural Universities and Faculties" will be held in hybrid format on December 19 (Mon), 2022. The forum, in which JIRCAS will also participate as a speaker, will deepen insight into the global trends in food security and the efforts being made in Japan and abroad, and discuss the actual situation, challenges, and improvement measures for human resource development, including study abroad programs, in agricultural universities and faculties, which are responsible for solving this issue.
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675. Importance of Genetic Diversity Research on Orphan Crops

More than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from severe micronutrient deficiencies, known as “hidden hunger". In recent years, attention has focused on the effective use of underutilized crops and genetic resources, known as orphan crops. JIRCAS, together with collaborating institutions, has elucidated for the first time in the world the genetic diversity of "hiyuna" (Amaranthus tricolor L.), a traditional vegetable of the Asian region. A presentation on "hiyuna" research will be given at the seminar to be held next week on December 12. Please register for the seminar.