Journal of International Cooperation for Agricultural Development
Online ISSN : 2436-2786
Print ISSN : 1347-5096
Volume 18
Displaying 1-9 of 9 articles from this issue
  • Yuko Yamane
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 2-17
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    It is thought that a severe food shortage will occur in the future as the world’s population increases. As a countermeasure against this problem, a food production increase is believed to be a strong solution. Therefore, agricultural technical support is being provided to improve productivity of crops in developing countries. However, it has also been considered that these measures, which are only focused in securing food volumes, will not lead to the construction of sustainable food systems. This paper summarizes current knowledge on the nature of human food and food systems from production to consumption, the significant changes they have had with modernization, and the necessities that must be covered to reach a solution to the food problem. The original diet of human beings was omnivorous. However, it has diversified and ranges from carnivorous to vegetarian. In a society where modernization has not finished, a wide range of animals and plants have been used as food, and their diversity is often related to the environment of each region. Besides, the procurement and production of each region’s animals and plants are accompanied by social mechanisms such as local technology and culture, which are very different among developed and undeveloped countries. Therefore, it is necessary to consider and, if possible, to measure these differences to establish the appropriate mechanism to propel each society toward sustainability.

    Download PDF (1671K)
ORIGINAL
  • Shuto Yamada, Yusuke Kurokawa, Keisuke Nagai, Angeles-Shim Rosalyn B, ...
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 18-28
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    The yield-related gene, WFP increases grain number by increasing the primary branch number per panicle in rice. In the present study, WFP was introgressed from ST-12 to IRBB60, a pyramiding line having the genes Xa4, xa5, xa13 and Xa21 for BLB resistance in the IR24 genetic background. The pyramided lines PL-1, PL-4 and PL-5 that were included in the initial BC2F2 selections based on their improved PBN were selected for further agronomic evaluation and generation advance up to BC2F3. All three lines recorded significantly higher PBN and GN due WFP introgression, although the loss of at least two BLB genes during the breeding process resulted in the variable response of the lines to the different BLB races. Among the lines, only PL-5 showed a significantly higher estimate of actual yield measured in terms of panicle weight per square meter compared to IRBB60. PL-5 also exhibited resistance to five out of the six BLB races used for resistance screening. Despite the negative effects in grain size, the improved yield estimates, as well as the validated BLB resistance of PL-5 makes it a suitable candidate for cultivar adoption under the tropical rice ecosystem of Southeast Asia.

    Download PDF (5052K)
Working Paper
  • —A case study on safe vegetable marketing in the Red River Delta in Vietnam—
    Teruyoshi Kumashiro
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 29-40
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    In developing countries, normally consumption of vegetables, fruits, and livestock products is expanded in addition to cereals consumption, as an income level of people rises. At the same time, consumers’ interest in quality and safety of those products is also enhanced. Regarding agricultural marketing, modern distribution channels such as supermarkets are increased in addition to traditional distribution channels following the progress of economic development of a country, and it is one of the major challenges for small and medium farmers to join the modern channels. Firstly, this article identified items for improving agricultural marketing from the viewpoint of producers. Secondly, it clarified characteristics of policies/institutions, marketing environment and farmer’s organizations which affect agricultural marketing in the Red River Delta in Vietnam. After that, it took up a technical cooperation project conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency which aims at promoting safe vegetables in the Red River Delta as a case study. Concretely, it analyzed which item for agricultural marketing improvement each component comprising trial activities of the project addressed. As a result, it proved clear effects of components such as dialogue with the market, establishment of a joint cultivation plan based upon market demand, post-harvest processing, and collection and delivery of products for agricultural marketing improvement.

    Download PDF (4105K)
  • Mayumi Kikuta, Daigo Makihara, Yulius Barra Pasolon, Fransiscus Surama ...
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 41-47
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Farms in Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, historically grow upland rice crops that utilize the slash-and-burn farming system. However, little is known about grain quality and the differences between upland rice varieties in this region. In the present study, growth and grain yield were measured to elucidate the characteristics of traditional upland rice varieties grown by local farmers. Additionally, amylose and protein content were measured to understand their characteristics. In this region, farmers predominantly grew traditional rice varieties, which were deemed as tropical japonica based on the measured agronomic traits. These traditional varieties were highly varied in terms of grain appearance and yield-related factors. Grain yield in the traditional varieties (3.0 t ha-1 on average) was inferior to that of Lampung (4.0 t ha-1 on average), an improved variety newly introduced from outside the region. In particular, Lampung tended to have a higher spikelet number per m2 than that of the traditional varieties. The protein and amylose content varied depending on the different varieties. Amylose content of eleven upland rice varieties was determined, with eight varieties characterized as sticky rice, two as non-glutinous varieties, and one as an extremely low amylose variety. These results indicate that this region contains valuable upland rice varieties, and this information is useful for future genetic resource studies.

    Download PDF (1673K)
  • Nonawin Lucob-Agustin, Tomomi Hasegawa, Kyosuke Jinno, Roel R. Suralta ...
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 48-55
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Lateral roots (LRs), which largely constitute the root system, allow the entire root system to expand to a larger area to efficiently capture water and nutrients from the soil. Thus, the optimization of LRs should be considered for the genetic improvement of root system architecture to most notably impact plant acquisition of soil resources for productivity. In this study, we newly identified a rice mutant, 11NB10, which has a high number of thick, long, and highly branched LRs (L-type LRs) with promoted parental root growth. We evaluated the root performance of this mutant under various nitrogen (N) regimes, including 30, 60, and 120 mg N corresponding to low, standard, and high N conditions, respectively. The results showed that under low N conditions, the 11NB10 mutant had a larger root system based on its total root length, which increased further with increasing N levels, compared to its wild-type, Nipponbare. This promoted root system growth could be attributed to the development of highly branched L-type LRs, which in turn might contributed to higher leaf area and shoot dry matter production. These findings suggest that the 11NB10 mutation gene promotes a highly developed root system under low N conditions, and its root performance could be further improved by enhancing LR development through N application. Thus, the 11NB10 mutant is a promising line for the breeding programs targeting root system architecture in rice.

    Download PDF (5052K)
  • Hisako Nomura, Jiro Inamura
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 56-60
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    This paper summarizes the presentations at the JICA-JISNAS Forum held at Tokyo JICA Research Institute on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. In this paper, we report the Kyushu University’s JICA-Development Studies Program (JICA-DSP) and its implementation system, the overview of the courses taken, and the students’ evaluation of this year’s courses. It points out that the significance of conducting a JICA-DSP is to provide a place to systematically learn from the workplaces in Japan and from Japanese experience. This has the advantage of fostering international students who share the vector of international cooperation between Japan and the international student’s home country by systematically learning actual issues through lectures and field visits. Also, it is thought to contribute to regional revitalization as well as global human resource development of Japanese students who can understand the history of Japan’s development and be able to explain widely in English. It also points out that the necessity to evaluate the program from a long-term perspective.

    Download PDF (1989K)
Field Report
  • Oumarou Souleymane, Adamou Haougui, Adamou Basso, Illiassou Mossi Maig ...
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 61-66
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Rice is a staple food in the Sahel countries. However, the crop production does not match population growth and demand. Hence, it is important to enhance rice yield to meet the demand. Achieving greater yields depends on increasing total crop biomass, because there is little scope to further increase the proportion of that biomass allocated to grain. Total crop biomass is determined mainly by crop photosynthesis and respiration losses, both of which are sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature. Rice cultivation in Niger is practiced during two cropping seasons yearly. Climate parameters change radically through the year across cropping seasons. The aim of this study was to assess intra-annual variation impact on rice genotypes productivity. Hence, 35 breeding lines were evaluated during two cropping seasons in an alpha lattice design with three replications. The results showed that the two cropping seasons were significantly different mega-environments. The mega-environments impacted significantly and differently genotypes performances. Some genotypes performed well in wet season while others did in dry season. The ideal genotype across cropping season was the genotype1. Both cropping seasons were ideal for some genotypes. But none of them was for all the genotypes. To increase the yield and production each genotype should be cultivated during the ideal cropping season.

    Download PDF (1176K)
  • Kazuma Shibono, Ryouta Kasuya, Hajime Chiba, Mizuho Matsushima, Akira ...
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 67-71
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    This article describes possible solutions to the challenges of (1) obtaining private grants, (2) human resource management, and (3) cooperation with government-affiliated agencies, which arose at an international student forum held by BRIDGE in September 2019. BRIDGE is a circle for global-minded students, which is recognized officially by the Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University. We describe reasons why applications for private grants were rejected, and make suggestions for the preparation of more effective applications. Concerning human resource management, we suggest organizational structure of BRIDGE from a point of view of leadership and management skills. In regard to cooperation with government-affiliated agencies, we suggest Japanese university students and graduate students use English educational content for trainees belonging to JICA, and plan for the expansion and renovation of educational contents with collaboration between JICA trainees and Japanese students. By sharing knowledge and experiences with other Japanese agricultural students, we hope that student organizations related to agricultural international cooperation can be founded throughout Japan. This could be an opportunity to build a student version of JISNAS (Japan Intellectual Support Network in Agricultural Sciences) as a foundation for future resources in agricultural international cooperation.

    Download PDF (1337K)
  • Hideya YAMADA
    2020 Volume 18 Pages 72-77
    Published: 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: April 28, 2021
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    This article is to explain the work of secretariat of international organizations with a view to recommend researchers who are about to or have earned doctor’s degree to choose international organizations positively as their career path. Once he/she joins the secretariat of an international organization, he/she can work as a member of the dynamic and capable professional group who apply their expertise in wide range of areas such as planning policy, providing information, and operating in the field for better livelihood of people in the world. Holding a doctor’s degree works to his/her advantage for working at an international organization, and the experience of working for an international organization creates valuable asset for developing his/her career. Various posts are available in the field of agriculture, forestry and fisheries at development organizations, and it is relatively easy to find posts suitable for his/her professional areas.

    Download PDF (767K)
feedback
Top