On May 13, 2023, Dr. SHINDO Soji, Director of Rural Development Division, received the 2023 Japan Association of International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (JAICABE) Fellow Award.
Agricultural engineering is the study of engineering technologies related to agricultural production, including infrastructure, operations, mechanization, and environmental improvement. JAICABE consists of 10 academic societies, including the Japan Society for Bio-Environmental Engineering, the Japanese Society of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Engineers and Scientists, the Society of Agricultural Meteorology of Japan, the Society of Agricultural Structures Japan, the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, the Japanese Society for Agricultural Informatics, etc.
For FY2023, JAICABE presented the Fellow Award to 23 individuals who have made significant academic and technological developments and ongoing achievements related to agricultural engineering.
Dr. Shindo's achievements include his long-standing efforts to solve agricultural water management problems in developing regions, and the International Contribution Award he received in 2013 from the Japan Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering (JSIDRE) for a series of reports on agricultural water policy trends in Egypt and his work on a project to strengthen water user associations. The committee also recognized his contributions to the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering (PAWEES), an international academic society for the advancement and dissemination of scientific knowledge and technology of paddy related disciplines with a scope of land, water and environment.