On July 2, 2024, a mission from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) led by Dr. Qingfeng Zhang, Senior Director of the Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office, visited the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) to discuss potential collaboration, with a focus on climate change adaptation strategies.

After a video presentation showing an overview of JIRCAS, Dr. MINAMIKAWA Kazunori, Senior Researcher in the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division, introduced efforts to promote alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in the Asia-Monsoon region, and Dr. IIYAMA Miyuki, Program Director (Information), introduced the activities of the project titled “Accelerating application of agricultural technologies which enhance production potentials and ensure sustainable food systems in the Asia-Monsoon region” (Green Asia).

Dr. Zhang, on the other hand, explained key initiatives in agriculture, food, nature, and rural development, and the two sides exchanged views on how ADB and JIRCAS can collaborate to make the most of their respective strengths.

The ADB mission also toured JIRCAS’s experimental fields and observed the chambers used for measuring greenhouse gas emissions from rice paddies.

Prior to the ADB mission’s visit, a press conference (organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) was held in Tokyo on June 28, 2024, to announce the launch of the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) in the agricultural sector. At the press conference, Dr. Minamikawa explained the proposed specific methodology for methane emission reduction through paddy water management in the Philippines.

JIRCAS is calling for applications for the “Platform for Utilizing the Joint Crediting Mechanism in the Agricultural Sector.”