Tomorrow, November 15, 2022, is the day that the world's population is estimated to reach 8 billion. Knowing global population trends is essential to planning for sustainable development internationally, including efforts to build food systems that are resilient to climate change, preserve the environment and biodiversity that support current and future generations, and ensure that no one is left behind with a nutrient-rich food supply. Today's Pick Up summarizes previous articles on world population.

Fall armyworm is a transboundary pest that is capable of self-migrating over long distances. Therefore, if a strain develops resistance to insecticides in one region, it may quickly spread to neighboring countries. In order to suppress the development of insecticide resistance in fall armyworm, it is necessary to establish a network that enables monitoring of changes in susceptibility to insecticides in each country and prompt international countermeasures based on the results of such monitoring.

The paper entitled “Virulence Diversity of Phakopsora pachyrhizi in Mexico” by Julio César García-Rodríguez of INIFAP, Naoki Yamanaka of JIRCAS and their colleagues, has received Honorable Mention for the 2021 PhytoFrontiers Best Student Paper Award from the American Pytopathological Society. This paper provides a rare global example of clear geographic variation in the virulence of Asian soybean rust (ASR) pathogen in adjacent regions. This discovery clarified that the introduction of resistant soybean varieties with stable resistance, including the pyramiding of resistance genes, is necessary to overcome the large geographical differences in virulence of the Mexican ASR pathogen.

The World Meteorological Organization has reported that the concentration of three major greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere has reached new record highs in 2021. Prominent researchers have warned that the planet is now in a “code red” state of high alert and have called for the need for drastic policy action. The UN Climate Change conference, COP27, to be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, beginning November 6, is expected to discuss efforts to limit temperature rise to within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels.

Based on its many years of experience in international research collaboration in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, JIRCAS has been working on the project “Accelerating application of agricultural technologies which enhance production potentials and ensure sustainable food systems in the Asia-Monsoon region” since FY2022 as an implementing agency assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. On October 25, the first meeting of the International Scientific Advisory Board for Strategy “MeaDRI” was held in Tokyo and there was a lively exchange of views and advice on the activities of the project.

The poster for the JIRCAS International Symposium 2022 “Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Sustainable Food Systems”, which was first announced in a recent Pick Up, is now available.