A group of 35 first-year students and one teacher from the Tsuchiura Third Junior High School visited JIRCAS on September 24, 2019 to learn about the research activities at the actual sites and the local environment of research being conducted by JIRCAS.

Two distinguished professors from Michigan State University (MSU), Dr. Brad Day and Dr. James Kells, visited JIRCAS on October 2, 2019 and exchanged opinions with JIRCAS President, Dr. Masa Iwanaga, on joint research and the possibility of accepting MSU students to pursue research at JIRCAS.

JIRCAS participated in the Global Festa Japan 2019 under the theme “Cheer up the world – Your action will change the world”, held in conjunction with the observance of the “International Cooperation Day”, at the Odaiba Center Promenade in Minato-ku, Tokyo on September 28-29, 2019.

The kick-off ceremony for the SATREPS Project on “Sustainable replantation of oil palm by adding value to oil palm trunk through scientific and technological innovation” (SATREPS Palm Project), a joint research collaboration of JIRCAS and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), was held at the USM Murad Mohd Noor Auditorium in Penang, Malaysia on September 19, 2019.

JIRCAS President, Dr. Masa Iwanaga, attended the Independent Steering Committee (ISC) meeting of the Rice CGIAR Research Program (CRP) held in Bangkok, Thailand on September 16 -17, 2019.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for promoting joint research collaboration between JIRCAS and the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) was concluded in a signing ceremony held on September 17, 2019

The JIRCAS visiting research fellows for FY2018 from China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Brazil and Thailand presented their research achievements in a meeting held at the International Conference Room on September 5, 2019.

Dr. Junji Koide, Researcher of the Social Sciences Division received the ‘Best Paper Award’ from the Farm Management Society of Japan (FMSJ) in a ceremony held on September 7, 2019 in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Farm Management Society of Japan held in Sendai, Miyagi Pref.

A group of 35 high school students (Grade 9-12) and 6 teachers from schools of the US military bases in the Pacific region under the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) visited JIRCAS on September 10, 2019.

A delegation from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, visited JIRCAS on September 6, 2019.

The “Plant Phenotyping x Engineering Ideathon” meeting was held at JIRCAS on Aug 26-27, 2019 in collaboration with the Japan Plant Phenotyping Network (JPPN) and supported by Agri-Air Co., Ltd.

The research activities of JIRCAS on environmental and resource management in Africa were introduced at the “Japan-Africa Business EXPO” on August 30, 2019, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) as an official side event of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7).

The Governor of the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR), Dr. Chutima Eamchotchawalit, visited JIRCAS on September 3, 2019 and met with JIRCAS President Masa Iwanaga and executive staff to explore potential collaboration that would contribute on agricultural production and food value chain.

JIRCAS participated in the symposium on “The Power of Boosting Africa for the Future of Food and Agriculture”, an official side event of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7 organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), held at the Pacifico Yokohama on August 28, 2019.

A meeting between JIRCAS Pres. Masa Iwanaga and Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Governor of the African Development Bank (AfDB) was held on August 30, 2019.