From March 4 to 5, 2025 (Tue–Wed), five staff members from the Innovation Strategy Office of the Research Planning Division, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Research Council (AFFRC) Secretariat, visited the Tropical Agriculture Research Front of JIRCAS. They observed research activities as well as related experimental fields and facilities.

First, Director YAMANAKA Shinsuke provided an online overview of TARF from Ghana and guided the visitors through fields and facilities related to genetic resources of tropical fruit trees. Next, Senior Researcher NAKAYAMA Masakazu introduced strawberry cultivation research using environmentally controlled facilities, and Senior Researcher KOBAYASHI Nobuya presented research on breeding heat-tolerant rice. Additionally, Senior Researcher TAKARAGAWA Hiroo explained research on developing new sugarcane varieties through hybridization with wild species, along with facilities such as lysimeters.

The visit facilitated extensive discussions on a wide range of topics, including the possibility of contributing to Japanese agriculture, which will need to adapt to high-temperature environments due to climate change.