In recent years, expectations for digital technology as a means of providing weather, technology, and market information to farmers have increased in Africa, and the corona crisis is likely to be an opportunity to accelerate trials for the digital transformation. The Sasakawa Africa Association's pilot project to build the "e-Extension Platform" in Africa is introduced. 

The simultaneous occurrence of COVID-19 and the desert locust infestation in 2020 provided an opportunity to highlight potential distribution vulnerabilities in the food supply chain. In a globalized society, the world food security situation is unpredictable and it is necessary to be prepared. A paper published in Nature Food in January 2021 was inspired by the simultaneous occurrence of COVID-19 and desert locust invasion in 2020 and a scenario analysis was conducted to quantify the impact of such events and other threats on global food security.

The Global Risks Report, published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January, is drawing attention in predicting trends in global issues as it captures the changing perspectives of world leaders on how to perceive the world. The 2021 report ranked infectious diseases as the global risk with the greatest impact. At the same time, infectious diseases ranked 4th in the top ranking global risks by likelihood, along with climate change related risks such as extreme weather (1st), climate action failure (2nd), human environmental damage (3rd), and biodiversity loss (5th).

On January 14, 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published the Adaptation Gap Report 2020, providing updates on the progress of climate change adaptation measures and the actions required. As climate change progresses, there is an increasing need for countries to take climate change adaptation measures as well as climate change mitigation measures. By taking adaptation measures, it is possible to avoid a serious crisis in the future, and the benefits are said to exceed the cost of implementing adaptation measures.

In January 2021, The Lancet Planetary Health published a commentary entitled "Planetary Health Diplomacy: A Call for Action". In the recovery from the pandemic, the participation of experts in international relations involved in the formulation and implementation of strategic policies for planetary health is requested in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs.

A paper published in PNAS showed that understanding nature’s contributions to people and monitoring their benefits are crucial in improving our ability to manage earth systems efficiently, equitably and sustainably. The paper reviewed the impact of the progress of environmental degradation over the last 50 years on human quality of life, and noted a declining trend in the potential for nature to contribute in the majority of material, nonmaterial and regulating contributions assessed.

The latest issue of ARDEC, the information magazine of the Overseas Agricultural and Development Center, Japanese Institute of Irrigation and Drainage (JIID), focused on the impact of climate change and the new coronavirus in agricultural resilience.

Exactly a year ago, the genome of SARS-CoV-2 was sequenced in China, wildfires peaked in Australia, and East Africa was exposed to the desert locust onslaught. As the world welcomes 2021, the coronavirus pandemic has not subsided at all, and the recovery of the world economy will depend on effectiveness of the vaccine. In contrast, there is no silver bullet like a vaccine for climate change, and every country is required to take concrete technical and institutional measures.

The United Nations has set the International Year on important themes that need to be addressed on a global scale and calls for action on issues to be considered. The year 2021 is designated as the International Year of Peace and Trust, the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, the International Year of Eradication of Child Labor, and the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.