Information Analysis
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616. Elucidating the Actual State of High-Temperature Sterility in Rice Through International Monitoring Network
As global warming progresses, there is concern about the decline in productivity and quality of paddy rice due to heat-induced sterility caused by exposure of the spikelets to high temperatures during flowering. A research group including JIRCAS has established an international open-field rice monitoring network (MINCERnet) covering 11 countries around the world to accumulate and analyze data from paddy fields under various climatic conditions. The research group identified that heat-induced sterility can be uniformly evaluated by using panicle temperature at the time of flowering, rather than ambient air temperature as an indicator. This evaluation method will improve the accuracy of predicting heat-induced sterility around the world and enable appropriate countermeasures to be taken.
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615. Special Issue of Field Crops Research on Sustainable Rice Production in Africa
To commemorate the 50th anniversary the Africa Rice Center (formerly WARDA) which is one of the CGIAR centers, Field Crops Research (Elsevier), an internationally renowned research journal has published a special issue on "Sustainable productivity enhancement of rice-based farming systems in Africa". Nineteen papers in the special issue were written by researchers at the forefront of research on rice agronomy in Africa, and JIRCAS researchers contributed to two of the papers.
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614. Development of Sugarcane Varieties
The JIRCAS-FFTC Workshop "Innovation and Networking of Sugarcane Research for Future Sugarcane Industry in the Asian and Pacific Region" will be held on September 15, Thursday. In today's Pick Up, we will introduce sugarcane varieties that have been developed by JIRCAS together with collaborating research institutes.
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613. JIRCAS Activities in Southeast Asia
As base for JIRCAS activities in Southeast Asia, an office was established in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1972. Currently, the liaison office is located in the Department of Agriculture, Thailand, adjacent to Kasetsart University. At the Southeast Asia Liaison Office, JIRCAS conducts research on trends in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries research in Asia, collects local information, and disseminates JIRCAS research results by participating in the Thailand Science and Technology Exhibition and holding seminars.
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612. Challenges of Climate Change Action in the US Agricultural Context
In mid-August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment promotion measure in U.S. history for greenhouse gas reduction investments, was passed. As summarized in an editorial in Science magazine on the challenges of climate action in the context of U.S. agriculture, the Act aims to promote investment in forest conservation and climate-friendly agricultural practices. While the causes of greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector in every country and region are different, and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all technical approach to reducing greenhouse gases, a paradigm shift toward sustainable agricultural practices is becoming an inevitable global trend, and learning from each country and region's lessons will be important.
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611. August 2022 World Food Price Index
On September 2, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released the global FAO Food Price Index (FFPI), showing that the August 2022 value averaged 138.0 points, 1.9% lower than in July and the fifth consecutive monthly decline from the all-time high in March, but 10.1 points (7.9%) higher than a year ago. The index remained 10.1 points (7.9%) above its level one year ago. All five components of the FFPI fell slightly in August, ranging from 1.4% for grains to 3.3% for vegetable oils
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610. Climate Endgame
On August 31, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the report State of the Climate in 2021, suggesting that climate change is accelerating, with atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and sea levels reaching record highs last year. The report pointed out the importance of effective communication to public opinion on the need for risk management based on worst-case scenarios.
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609. Possibility of Increasing Frequency of Extremely Dangerous Heat Waves by 2100
A study by the University of Washington and Harvard University, published in Communications Earth & Environment, indicated that, depending on progress in combating climate change, the frequency of extremely dangerous heat waves could increase by the end of this century.
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608. TICAD 8 Side-Event “Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability” Succesfully Held
The TICAD 8 official side-event “Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability” was successfully held yesterday, August 30, 2022. A fruitful discussion was held on the role of agronomy in solving low soil fertility and nutrient deficiencies faced by small-scale farmers in Africa. We will report on the details later.
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607. TICAD8 Official Side Event Today
At the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) held in Tunisia on August 27-28, the Japanese government positioned Africa as “a partner for growing together" and expressed its commitment to focus on “investment in people” and “quality of growth”. At the opening ceremony, the President of Senegal spoke of the need to expand food and agricultural production and value chains, and expressed his expectations for a win-win relationship in technology transfer, human resource utilization, and public-private partnerships between Japan and the continent, as well as for solving issues through innovation in order to fully utilize the potential of each country. From 5:00 PM today, the online event "Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability" will finally be held.
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606. TICAD8 Official Side Event "Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability" on Tuesday, Registration Closes at 4:00 PM Today
Sub-Saharan Africa is dependent on agricultural imports despite having a growing agricultural sector. One of the reasons for this is the low fertility and diversity of soil types, and overcoming this constraint requires a solid understanding of soil properties and the development of technologies that can both improve crop productivity and soil conservation. Tomorrow's online event, "Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability”, will discuss the challenges of soil fertility and poor nutrient soil management with private and NGO stakeholders.
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605. Challenges of Improving Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Tomorrow the 27th and the day after tomorrow the 28th, the TICAD8 Conference will finally be held. While the African development agenda is not limited to agriculture, improving agricultural productivity is essential for providing nutritious food in rural and urban areas and for promoting economic structural transformation. This issue introduces the challenges of increasing agricultural productivity, the biggest issue in Sub-Saharan African agriculture, referring to a paper by Prof. Thomas Jayne of Michigan State University and Prof. Pedro Sanchez of the University of Florida, leading experts in African agricultural research, published last year in Science.
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604. Report on TICAD8 Side-Event “Healthy Soils for Food Security in Africa: The Potential of Regenerative Agriculture”
On August 5, the TICAD8 official side-event “Healthy Soils for Food Security in Africa: The Potential of Regenerative Agriculture” co-organized by JIRCAS and the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) was held online. A report and video of the event are now available on the SAA website.
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603. Technology Showcase for Asia and Africa
Focusing on the results of collaborative research conducted by JIRCAS in recent years, we have compiled technologies that can contribute to the development of sustainable food systems, which are expected to be utilized in the Asia-Monsoon region and Sub-Saharan Africa. We hope that the technologies presented in this showcase will serve as a reference for a wide range of stakeholders and help to transform sustainable food systems.
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602. Registration for JIRCAS-FFTC Workshop “Innovation and Networking of Sugarcane Research for Future Sugarcane Industry in the Asian and Pacific Region" is Now Open
Registration is now open for the JIRCAS-FFTC Workshop “Innovation and Networking of Sugarcane Research for Future Sugarcane Industry in the Asian and Pacific Region”. Sugarcane breeding requires a a long time, and sugarcane breeders should have a clear grasp of the needs and challenges in sugarcane production and industry in the foreseeable future. This workshop will identify specific problems and demands of sugarcane production in the target areas and discuss the direction for breeding new and improved varieties for the prospective sugarcane industry.
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601. TICAD Weeks
This weekend marks the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8). As we have already announced several times in this Pick Up, on August 30 (Tuesday), we will be hosting an event titled “Managing African Soil for Food Security and Environmental Sustainability - Opportunities and Challenges of Agronomy to Solve Low Fertility/Nutrient Bottlenecks”. In addition, many organizations involved in African development will be holding online seminars and other events this week and the week after. Please take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the challenges of African agriculture.
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600. Fifty Years Since ‘Limits to Growth’
This year, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of the Club of Rome's publication of ‘Limits to Growth’ in 1972. Today, as we face a climate emergency with more frequent extreme weather events, the zoonosis COVID-19, widening inequality, and the threat of war, the 50th anniversary is an important time to reflect on what has happened and to consider what the future holds.
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599. Heat Waves Exceeding Climate Change Model Prediction
This past July was apparently the hottest July on record, despite the La Niña event. The Copernicus Climate Change Service in Europe reported the third hottest surface temperatures on record, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the sixth hottest on record. In an article published in Nature, the authors state that recent extreme heat waves have actually been observed earlier than climate change models predict.
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598. International Trends in Fertilizer Prices and Innovations in Effective Use of Fertilizers
With the recent spike in chemical fertilizer prices due to rising fuel prices, which could strain global food supply and demand in the medium term, a World Bank blog in late July called for investment in innovation to develop best practices and technologies that will enable increased productivity per fertilizer use, addressing the need to guarantee access and reasonable prices for fertilizers by producers. JIRCAS will host an official TICAD 8 side event on August 30, 2022, to showcase the innovations in fertilizer use that JIRCAS has been developing in Madagascar and Burkina Faso.
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597. The Importance of Mountain Ecosystem
Tomorrow, August 11, is Mountain Day. Mountains play a central role in biological and cultural diversity and traditional knowledge, yet they are more exposed than ever to the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. These changes could affect water supply, energy production, ecosystem integrity, and agricultural and forestry production. Initiatives are needed to mitigate the effects of climate change and conserve mountain ecosystems at local and global scales.