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Pick Up1115. Global Drought Overview
According to a report published by the European Union at the end of September, a severe drought is currently affecting large areas of the world. The combination of the strong positive state of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole, as well as climate change, is negatively impacting agricultural productivity across a wide range of regions and raising concerns about an urgent food security crisis. In the face of climate change, crop genetic resource diversity is essential for maintaining the resilience of agriculture. On October 11, we will host a special symposium for Dr. Cary Fowler, winner of the 2024 World Food Prize, for his significant contributions to the conservation of crop genetic resource diversity. -
Pick Up1114. Methane Surges in 2020-2022 Were Driven by Inundation of the Wet Tropics
The increase in methane gas in the atmosphere has accelerated over the past decade, with the highest increase on record from 2020 to 2022. A paper published in the journal PNAS showed that inundation of the wet tropics caused a methane surge in 2020-2022. -
Pick Up1113. Recent Global Food Security Situation
According to the World Bank's blog, domestic food price inflation remains high in many low- and middle-income countries. Factors affecting global food security include the impact of record-breaking high temperatures on commodity crop markets and the surge in trade-related restrictions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. -
Pick Up1112. Global Food Price Trends for September 2024
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its global food price trends on October 4. The value in September 2024 averaged 124.4 points, up 3% from August and the highest monthly price indicator increase since March 2022. Prices for all commodities included in the price indicator increased, ranging from 0.4% in meat prices to 10.4% in sugar prices. This figure was 2.1% higher than last year, but 22.4% lower than the all-time high in March 2022. -
Pick Up1111. 2024 World Food Prize – Crop Genetic Diversity
The conservation of crop diversity and genetic resources is critical to global food security. JIRCAS will host ‘Symposium with Dr. Cary Fowler, 2024 World Food Prize Laureate‘ next Friday, October 11, 2024, -
Pick Up1110. Effective Climate Policies
Achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement requires knowledge of what climate policies are effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A paper published in the journal Science used machine learning to assess 1,500 climate policies and identified 63 policies that contributed to carbon dioxide reductions. -
Pick Up1109. Communication on Science, Technology, and Innovation
As climate change accelerates and environmental problems pile up, trends in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries in the Global South, which will continue to drive global food demand due to population growth, are important issues for food security in the world and in Japan. To convey the importance of science, technology, and innovation in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries of the Global South, it is necessary to devise effective communication methods. -
Pick Up1108. How to Deal with Risks of Global Food Systems
Today’s food systems are fraught with risks and uncertainties. Below is an excerpt from a blog published last February. We need international cooperation to remove uncertainties and implement transformative changes to build resilient and sustainable food systems. A special seminar scheduled next Tuesday, October 8, will offer participants an opportunity to engage with Dr. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of FAO, in strategic international cooperation discussions to enhance global food security and nutrition as well as the resilience of food systems. -
Pick Up1107. Microbes, Planetary Health, SDGs
Microorganisms such as bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi and protists are essential to life on Earth and the functioning of the biosphere. The paper, published in the journal Cell, discusses the main role of microbes in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discusses recent advances in microbial research and technology that will facilitate the transition to a sustainable future. -
Pick Up1106. International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
September 29, this weekend, is the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. This year's theme is to contribute to the achievement of climate goals and promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. -
Pick Up1105. Quantifying Earth-System Boundaries
It seems that the health of the planet and its people is at risk. Today, I would like to introduce a report published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal (Gupta et al. 2024) along with the concept of Earth-system boundaries. -
Pick Up1104. United in Science 2024
To coincide with the convening of the United Nations General Assembly in September, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and other UN agencies have released a report on the latest climate science information (United in Science). The theme of the 2024 report is United in Science: Reboot Climate Action. -
Pick Up1103. Climate Change Worsens the Environmental Impacts of Agriculture
Modern agriculture has a significant environmental impact, and as climate change worsens, the environmental impact of agriculture is expected to worsen. The review published in the journal Science analyzed the effects of climate change on the various aspects of agriculture's environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, water use and scarcity, soil degradation, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, pollution from pests and pesticide use, and biodiversity loss. -
Pick Up1102. 2024 NARO-JIRCAS－FFTC International Symposium on “Control of Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Rice Heavy Metals Absorption through Paddy Field Water Management”
In the NARO-JIRCAS-FFTC International symposium, experts from the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Taiwan, and Japan will come together to share the latest progresses and outputs from the research and discuss for further research and social implementation of the technology. The symposium will be held for a day and a half on October 1 & 2. -
Pick Up1101. Metabolites That Support High Water Use Efficiency in Erianthus
Sugarcane, a sugar and energy crop, has a narrow genetic base due to hybridizations among modern varieties, and there are high expectations for expanding its genetic base and improving its tolerance to environmental stresses through intergeneric hybridizations using the closely related genetic resource Erianthus arundinaceus. The paper, published in Planta, found that the high drought tolerance of Erianthus, previously vaguely understood, may be attributed to its high water use efficiency due to its low stomatal density and accumulations of specific metabolites. -
Pick Up1100. Summer 2024 Was the Hottest Ever
On September 11, NASA announced that summer 2024 was the hottest summer on record, with the average temperatures in June, July, and August exceeding last year's record by 0.1°C. -
Pick Up1099. Special Symposium with Dr. Cary Fowler of the U.S. Department of State in Tokyo on October 11
JIRCAS will host ‘Symposium with Dr. Cary Fowler, 2024 World Food Prize Laureate – Dr. Fowler’s Journey to Preserve Genetic Diversity and New Mission for Africa’s Adapted Crops and Soils’ in Tokyo on October 11, 2024. -
Pick Up1098. Special Seminar with FAO Chief Economist to be held in Tokyo on October 8
JIRCAS and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will jointly host a special seminar titled "Priority Policies and Investment Options for Global Food and Nutrition Security and Resilient Food Systems" on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, featuring Mr. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). -
Pick Up1097. Methane Emissions Have Increased at an Unprecedented Rate Over the Past Five Years
Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Under the Global Methane Pledge, more than 150 countries have pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% over a decade, but a study published on September 10 found that methane emissions have increased at an unprecedented rate over the past five years, with most emissions coming from agriculture and waste. -
Pick Up1096. Climate and SDG synergies
Given the fact that more than 80% of the SDGs are climate-related, there is no room for a disjointed response to climate change and the achievement of the SDGs. Here we present one of the themes of this month's Fifth Global Synergy Conference and The UN Summit of the Future, the UN report on strategies for maximizing synergies between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals.