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. 

The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) is now accepting applications for employment of a researcher and fixed-term employment of young researchers.

On October 14, 2021, H.E. Mr. Mukhsinkhuja Abdurakhmonov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Japan, visited JIRCAS and exchanged opinions with President Koyama and other executive staff.

Dr. TORIYAMA Kazunobu, former Director of the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division, and his colleagues have been awarded the 2020 Best Paper of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition  (SSPN Award) for their paper "Contribution of fallow weed incorporation to nitrogen supplying capacity of paddy soil under organic farming".

The major research and development activities of JIRCAS in the 5th Medium to Long-Term Plan which started in 2021, are grouped into the "Environment" and "Food" programs, with the aim of solving global-scale issues related to agriculture, forestry and fisheries. In addition, the "Information" program encompasses activities towards establishing a strategic information hub on the complex and diverse global environment and food system. We have created  three logos to serve as symbol for each research program, and we are pleased to release these logos to the public.

Dr. NISHIGAKI Tomohiro, Researcher in the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division, received the award for excellence in poster presentation at the annual meeting 2021 of the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (JSSSPN) held online on September 14-16, 2021. The winning poster was titled “Cultivation of Stylosanthes guianensis can enhance phosphorus dynamics and following rice production in the central highlands of Madagascar”.

Dr. FUKUTA Yoshimichi, a former senior researcher in the Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division and the Tropical Agriculture Research Front (TARF) and proponent of the international network research for the development of rice blast control technology at JIRCAS, received the 2020 Japanese Society of Breeding Award on March 20, 2021.

JIRCAS will co-organize the International Workshop of Southeast Asia Research-based Network on Climate Change Adaptation Science (SARNCCAS) with the Global and Local Environmental Co-Creation Institute (GLEC), Ibaraki University. The workshop will be held online on September 16 and 17, 2021.