A ceremony to celebrate the completion of the FyVary Project (Breakthrough in nutrient use efficiency for rice by genetic improvement and fertility sensing techniques in Africa), under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), was held on September 8, 2022 at the Hotel Colbert in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

After the opening remarks by Dr. NAKASHIMA Kazuo, Director of JIRCAS Food Program Director, the Director of JICA Madagascar Office, and the Director of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of Madagascar, the ceremony was then opened with a video message from Mr. Ramilson Harifidy, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Madagascar. The Minister noted that the project, which started in 2017, has achieved many results that contribute to the stable production of rice, the most important crop for the development of Madagascar, including the development of new rice varieties with excellent productivity even in a nutrient-poor environment, the development of P-dipping technique that efficiently improve rice yield with less fertilizer, the generation of numerous research papers, and the development of research facilities and training for young human resources. He expressed his gratitude to JICA, JST and JIRCAS for the these achievements, and the fact that these achievements are already being used by thousands of farmers.

Following the opening remarks, Dr. TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro, the Principal Investigator of the project, reported on the achievements of the FyVary project. Afterwards, the Secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock presented a letter of appreciation in the name of the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock to Dr. Tsujimoto, for his contribution to the improvement of sustainable rice production, technology development and human resource development in Madagascar. Then, on behalf of the counterpart country, the Director General of the Madagascar National Center for Applied Research for Rural Development (FOFIFA), the Director of Laboratory of Radio-Isotope, University of Antananarivo, and a young researcher from FOFIFA gave presentations on what they have learned through this project and their future prospects.

In the general discussion, the Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock, together with representatives of JICA technology cooperation projects or PAPRIZ (Project for Rice Productivity Improvement and Management of Watershed and Irrigation Area) and PASAN, which is working to improve nutrition, and the National Nutrition Office (ONN) explained specific measures to implement the technologies and findings obtained through the project.

In closing, JST Research Supervisor NAGAMINE and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock gave the closing remarks. The Secretary General mentioned that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock will implement the results of this project in collaboration with JICA technical experts and other donors, and that she looks forward to the next SATREPS project. This closing ceremony was attended by 60 people at the venue and about 20 people online. The ceremony was reported by 19 TV, newspaper, and radio stations as well as the official social networking sites and website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

Reference: Clôture du projet "Fy Vary". Orange actu Madagascar,  https://actu.orange.mg/cloture-du-projet-fy-vary/ (2022-09-08)