Two second-year students from Shiba Junior High School (Minato-ku, Tokyo) interested in learning about research activities addressing Africa’s food problems visited JIRCAS on February 14, 2020. 

To address the student’s concern, Dr. YANAGIHARA Seiji, Project Leader of the “Food Security in Africa” project introduced research activities on the development of sustainable technologies to increase productivity or rice and upland crops and improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.  In addition, Dr. KOIDE Junji, Researcher of the Social Sciences Division, introduced the results of a social science study on farmers in Ghana who have introduced Japanese rice cultivation technology in the past.

The lectures provided the students with an overview not only of JIRCAS activities in developing countries but as well as an understanding of the global food and environmental problems.