The 5th G20 Meeting of Chief Agricultural Scientists (G20 MACS) was held in Xi’an, China on May 30-31, 2016 hosted by China as G20 President. The 96 participants included delegates from G20 member countries and G20 guests, international institutions of agricultural research, international organizations and international cooperation initiatives. The delegation from Japan included JIRCAS President Masa Iwanaga, Deputy Director General Ryuko Inoue of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat (AFFRC) and 4 others.

The G20 MACS is an annual meeting providing an opportunity for discussion and exchange of ideas aimed at identifying global research priorities and targets, and facilitating collaboration in the key areas, towards a sustainable and stable world food supply. JIRCAS has participated in G20 MACS since the 1st meeting held in Mexico in 2012 and has contributed in addressing global food security challenges.

At this meeting, Dr. Iwanaga presented the role of JIRCAS as a national center for GRiSP, a global rice project led by CGIAR, as a successful example of collaboration between the international framework and domestic research forces.