Dr. Tomohiro Nishigaki , Senior Researcher at JIRCAS and a member of the SATREPS VaryAla project, traveled to Madagascar in May to conduct field surveys and hold meetings with partner research institutions. 

During the trip, harvesting activities were conducted at the wet-season rice cultivation trial site in Ankarafantsika National Park. In addition, topsoil sampling, plot establishment, and rice transplanting were carried out at the dry-season trial site.

In the capital city of Antananarivo, discussions were held with counterpart researchers on a simplified method for estimating the coarse soil fraction. The research progress of Ph.D. students was reviewed, and the status of site preparation for the installation of new analytical equipment was confirmed.