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.

Poverty remains overwhelmingly concentrated in rural areas. Improving agricultural productivity is fundamental to poverty reduction and must be promoted in tandem with diversification into non-agricultural activities such as agribusiness, tourism, and the green and digital economies.

On October 29, BioScience published the 2025 Climate Report: A Planet on the Brink, sounding the alarm that the impacts of human-induced climate change are no longer a future threat, but a real reality.

In paddy soils, microbially mediated redox cycling processes driven by water and soil management are believed to control the dynamics of soil minerals and soil organic matter. Toward the establishment of sustainable paddy rice farming systems, evidence is needed on practices that can increase rice yields while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as knowledge on the biogeochemical processes that shape specific paddy soils in the short and long term.

October 24th is World Development Information Day, which provides an opportunity to consider ways to use information to reduce poverty, promote education, and address environmental issues. At the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025, to be held next Monday, October 27th, we will present the achievements of the Green Asia Project, which has been promoting information dissemination aimed at transforming food systems in the Asian monsoon region. We will also discuss the needs to be addressed in the next phase of the project and the lessons that may be applicable to other regions.

The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report emphasizes that most poor people are exposed to at least one climate hazard, and even many face multiple hazards simultaneously, underscoring the need to address this potentially worsening double burden.

The World Meteorological Organization announced that atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) broke records in 2024. Global atmospheric CO2 concentrations, in particular, increased by 3.5 ppm from 2023 to 2024, marking the largest annual increase since modern observations began in 1957.

October 16th is World Food Day. Food systems are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but they also have the potential to reduce these emissions through the way food is produced, grown, harvested, and distributed. The JIRCAS International Symposium on October 27th will bring together internationally renowned scientists in food systems research to discuss collaboration to accelerate food system transformation.

This week, the Agrifood System Technologies & Innovations Outlook (ATIO) will be launched at the World Food Forum in Rome. JIRCAS participated in the online consultation to confirm prototype specifications and contributed to the discussions based on its experience in creating the Green Asia Project Technology Catalog. We will share our experience with the Green Asia Technology Catalog at the JIRCAS International Symposium on October 27th.