Climate change and rising food prices are still serious problems in many parts of the world. For this reason, recognizing the increasing importance of technology development is a key to increased productivity and stable production of agricultural products in the tropics and other unstable environments. This approach would help reduce malnutrition in developing regions and improve global food security.

Solutions to problems related to soil environment and fertilizer, which are indispensable for crop production, are urgently needed, particularly in areas like Africa where unstable environments that limit crop productivity are widely distributed. Following the Tokyo International Conference on African Development （TICAD）and ahead of the International Year of Soils (2015), we recognize that tackling these problems is an urgent matter. In this symposium, topics focusing on the improvement of nitrogen and phosphorus efficiency as well as countermeasures against salinity and other stresses will be discussed by researchers and specialists in a comprehensive manner, not only from the aspect of soil science or plant nutrition but also from that of crop breeding.

(9:00-9:30) Registration

(9:30-9:40) Opening remarks

Masa Iwanaga, President, JIRCAS

(9:40-9:45) Welcome statements

Hirotsugu Amamiya, Director General, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat, MAFF

(9:45-10:55) Keynote Speeches
Chair: Osamu Koyama, JIRCAS

(09:45-09:50) Introduction of Keynote Speaker

(09:50-10:20) Sustainable intensification through improved soil health in smallholder agriculture

William D. Dar, Director General, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

(10：20-10：25) Introduction of Keynote Speaker

(10：25-10：55) Soil degradation : Challenge to achieving human security

Takashi Kosaki, Professor, Faculty of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University (President of Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition)

(10：55-11：15)  Tea/Coffee Break  (Group Photo)

(11:15-12:40, 13:50-14:55) Session 1: Improvement of crop productivity in infertile soils
Chairs: Satoshi Tobita, Naruo Matsumoto (JIRCAS)

(11：15-11：20) Introduction of Session 1

(11：20-11：40) Overview on soil fertility and crop production in SSA

Andre Bationo, Soil scientist and President, Action for Integrated Rural Development (AIRD)

(11：40-12：00) Nitrogen use and efficiency in East Asian agriculture - To a step for application to Africa

Shin-ichiro Mishima, National Institute for Agro-Enviromental Sciences (NIAES)

(12：00-12：20) N2Africa: Delivering biological nitrogen fixation (bnf) technologies to African small-scale farmers for enhancing soil fertility and legume production

Nancy K. N. Karanja, University of Nairobi

(12：20-12：40) Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) - Potential for reducing nitrification and N2O emissions from agricultural systems

Guntur. V. Subbarao, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

(12：40-13：50) Lunch

(13：50-14：10） Soybean yield is affected by previous crops and mycorrhizal fungal colonization under no P fertilizer condition -A Japanese study with applicability to developing regions-

Katsunori Isobe, Nihon University

(14：10-14：30) Agricultural use of indigenous phosphate rocks in Sub-Saharan Africa

Satoshi Tobita, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

(14：30-14：50) Pup1 and beyond: New ideas, traits and genes for higher phosphorus efficiency

Matthias Wissuwa, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

(14:50-14:55) Review of Session 1

(14；55-15:15) Tea/Coffee Break

(15:15-16:25) Session 2: Mitigation of soil salinity problems
Chairs: Kazuhiro Suenaga, Mariko Shono (JIRCAS)

(15：15-15：20) Introduction of Session 2

(15：20-15：４0) Sustainable technologies for crop production under salt-affected soil in India.

Dinesh K. Sharma, Central Soil Salinity Research Institute

(15：40-16：00) Soil salinization and its mechanism in checkdam farmlands in the Loess Plateau, China

Katsuyuki Shimizu, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University

(16：00-16：20) Genetic improvement of salt tolerance in soybean

Donghe Xu, Biological Resources and Post-harvest Division, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS)

(16:20-16:25) Review of Session 2

General Discussion (16:25-16:55)
Chair: Takeshi Kano (JIRCAS)

Closing remarks (16:55-17:00)

Masami Yasunaka, Vice President, JIRCAS