The JIRCAS Tropical Agriculture Research Front (TARF) held the 15th Open House for a week from November 8 (Mon) to 14 (Sun), 2021, to introduce the research activities of TARF to the citizens of Ishigaki City and the general public. As it was the first time for the event to be held online, we devised the contents of the exhibition and introduction so that everyone could enjoy it, and the entire event received a total of 2,765 accesses from Japan and overseas. Thank you very much for your participation.

Dr. TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro, Project Leader in the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division of JIRCAS has been awarded the 20th Japan Prize in Agricultural Sciences, Achievement Award for Young Scientists, for his research on the development and dissemination of effective rice fertilization technology suitable for cultivation environments in Africa. The award is given by the Foundation of Agricultural Sciences of Japan to young researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of agriculture.

A group of 38 first year senior high school students and two teachers from Saitama Prefectural Kumagaya High School visited JIRCAS on November 26 (Friday), 2021 through the "Tsukuba Science Tour". This was the second visit from the school, following last November. As a safety measure against COVID-19, the students were divided into two groups, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, for introduction of JIRCAS research activities (indoor lecture).

JIRCAS participated in the Agribusiness Creation Fair 2021 organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and held at the Tokyo Big Sight Aomi Exhibition Halls from November 24 (Wed)-26 (Fri), with an exhibition of various research, including wheat that shows high productivity with less nitrogen fertilizer.

From November 24 (Wed.) to 26 (Fri.), 2021, JIRCAS presented an exhibit of research activities and results on biomass energy at Agro Innovation 2021 (organized by Japan Management Association), which was held at the Aomi Exhibition Halls of Tokyo Big Sight. The event is a specialized exhibition that showcases cutting-edge technologies and products related to the entire value chain of Japan's agricultural business. In the exhibition hall, thorough countermeasures against the new coronavirus were taken, such as taking temperature, wearing masks, and disinfecting.

In November 2021, Dr. FUJITA Yasunari, Project Leader of the Bioresources and Post-harvest Division of JIRCAS, has been selected by Clarivate Analytics of the USA as a Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Plant and Animal Sciences for the eighth consecutive year.

On November 18, 2021, H. E. Mr. Robert Takata, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Dominican Republic, visited JIRCAS and exchanged opinions with President Koyama and other executive staff on the possibility of joint research.

The 13th National Forum on Scientific Research and Technological Innovation was held from October 26-30, 2021, at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, West Africa, hosted by the Agence Nationale de Valorisation des Résultats de la Recherche et des Innovations (National Agency for the Promotion of Research and Innovations).

A group of 40 first year students and 2 teachers from Tochigi Prefectural Senior High School visited JIRCAS through the "Tsukuba Science Tour" program on November 11, 2021. This was the second visit from the school since November last year. As a safety measure against COVID-19, the students were divided into two groups for introduction of JIRCAS research activities (indoor lecture) and introduction of rice samples at the Hachimandai Experimental Field (outdoor lecture).

The research results of Project Leader Dr. TSUJIMOTO Yasuhiro and collaborators on the interaction between the effect of phosphorus fertilization and climatic conditions for rice yields, presented by Dr. Bruce Haja Andrianary of the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar, received the Best Presentation Award at the 10th Asian Crop Science Association Conference (ACSAC), which was held online on September 8-10, 2021.