A group of 40 first year senior high school students and 2 teachers from Tochigi Prefectural High School visited JIRCAS through the "Tsukuba Science Tour" on November 11, 2020. As a safety measure, the students were divided into two groups for introduction of JIRCAS research initiatives (indoor) and introduction of rice samples at the Hachimandai Experimental Field (outdoor).

In the indoor lecture, an overview of JIRCAS research projects on climate change, food security in Africa, and food value chain, which provided the students an opportunity to think about about the actual conditions of the world's agriculture, forestry and fisheries and problems related to environment and food.

At the Hachimandai Experimental Field, Project Leader Dr. YANAGIHARA Seiji talked about rice cultivation in the African region, and root crops such as yam which is a regional crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, introduced African rice varieties and demonstrated the sensory evaluation of aromatic rice.

The visit was aimed at deepening understanding on "international" research activities and provided the students a closer look at food and environmental issues in developing regions and an opportunity to think about their future career.