Dr. TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro, Project Leader in the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division of JIRCAS has been awarded the 20th Japan Prize in Agricultural Sciences, Achievement Award for Young Scientists, for his research on the development and dissemination of effective rice fertilization technology suitable for cultivation environments in Africa. The Foundation of Agricultural Sciences of Japan gives the award to young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of agriculture.
Project Leader TSUJIMOTO is currently pursuing research on improving crop productivity in Africa, constantly visiting, making observations and doing experiments at the production sites. In the process, he devised a fertilization technique in which a small amount of phosphorus fertilizer is added to the roots of rice seedlings before transplanting. This technology is already being used in Madagascar, and was highly evaluated as an achievement that can contribute to improving rice productivity in Africa, where the amount of fertilizer input is low and soil phosphorus deficiency and various environmental stresses are problems.
The award ceremony was held on November 26, 2021 at the Yayoi Auditorium, University of Tokyo. Project Leader Tsujimoto was on a business trip to Madagascar, so he participated in the awarding ceremony and gave the commemorative lecture online.
List of 2021 Awardees