In recent years, technological innovation in the agrifood sector has been progressing rapidly. The United Nations Development Programme report has identified a wide range of innovations and methods that can contribute to improving the efficiency and productivity of conventional agriculture as 'novel agrifood technologies'.

It seems that the frequency and intensity of heat waves have been increasing recently not only in Japan, but around the world as well. The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has compiled a summary of the definition, impacts, and impact mechanism of heat waves on its website.

On July 24, the 2024 edition of "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report: SOFI" was released by United Nations agencies (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO), highlighting that in 2023, one in 11 people in the world and one in five in Africa were estimated to have faced hunger. 

Today, conflicts in multiple parts of the world are leading to hunger and severe food crises. On July 17, the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) said 282 million people in 59 countries are facing severe food crises and called for urgent policy intervention to address life-threatening issues.

To prepare for a future of uncertainty and rapid change, we must address strategically and institutionally with an outlook and perspective on the risks facing the world in the future. UNEP has published ‘Navigating New Horizons: A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing’.

The second issue of the Green Asia Report Series, " Accelerating intermittent irrigation for low-carbon and resilient rice production systems in Asia: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities," has been published. This series aims to introduce scalable technologies that can be shared in the Asia-Monsoon region and contribute to the transformation of food systems in the region, by serving as a reference for various stakeholders, including government officials, researchers, extension officers, producers, and the private sector. The second issue introduces intermittent irrigation technology, which is expected to have effects such as water saving, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and yield stabilization in rice cultivation.

On July 11, the World Bank wrote in its blog that global food price trends and food security since the COVID-19 pandemic have stabilized since reaching record highs in 2022, but a combination of factors continues to exert food inflationary pressures in countries. Additionally, AI tools are expanding the applicability of real-time data to assess the impact on vulnerable segments of society.

A paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production applied the concept of doughnut economics, which advocates the realization of social justice without destroying the natural environment and attempted to examine whether there is a safe and just operating space where basic needs can be met without disturbing the Earth system for all humankind. The results show that, while theoretically possible, large-scale transformation across all sectors and dietary changes are needed, especially through improving agricultural practices and material cycles.

On this year's World Population Day, we introduce the demographic and economic share of the Asian monsoon region from JIRCAS's Green Asia Report Series, "Driving sustainable food systems transformation in the Asia-Monsoon region with science, technology, and innovation: background and key issues for 'Green Asia' project".