Dr. Yasuhiro Tsujimoto, Project Leader of JIRCAS and the SATREPS VaryAla project, traveled to Madagascar in May to oversee project management activities and conduct yield surveys for large-scale coordinated field trials.
During the visit, all trial sites of the large-scale coordinated field experiments under Research Theme 1—aimed at developing fertilizer management technologies that simultaneously increase crop yields and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions—were visited. Meteorological observation data were collected and managed, and soil, plant, and gas samples were retrieved. The results from the first year were discussed with counterpart researchers, and agreement was reached on the experimental plan for the second year.
For Research Theme 2, which examines the effects of fungal inoculation on the growth of Brassicaceae vegetables, farmer fields for on-farm trials were selected, and trial procedures were confirmed with counterpart researchers. Under Research Theme 3, focusing on the development of effective approaches for disseminating rice cultivation technologies, discussions were held with staff from the JICA Scheme for Project-type Technical Cooperation (FyVary2) and a partner fertilizer company, and the design of a fertilizer sales experiment for the next cropping season was finalized.
In addition, pot experiments under Research Theme 4 were initiated to assess the effects of differences in upstream vegetation and water quality on rice growth and nutrient uptake.
Meetings were also held with the Director General of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, the counterpart institution of the project, to review progress and discuss future plans. Courtesy visits were paid to the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Madagascar, providing an opportunity to introduce JIRCAS’s past research achievements in Madagascar and present an overview of the SATREPS VaryAla project.