Authors implemented awareness raising activities about safe vegetables in Hanoi as a part of a JICA technical cooperation project which aimed expansion of production, marketing and consumption of safe vegetables in the Red River Delta of Vietnam. The purpose of the awareness raising activities was to enhance consumers’ interests in safe vegetables and to change their purchase behavior accordingly. In order to accomplish the purpose, authors tried to achieve effective results by utilizing classes in primary and secondary schools and combining them with other project components. JICA had very few precedents of agricultural technical cooperation projects which involved primary and secondary education. This article analyzed the contents of the above-mentioned case and their effects. It also pointed out implications for future collaboration with primary or secondary education in agricultural projects.

Establishing sustainable food security in the midst of a natural environment that is changing on a global scale is one of the major challenges facing humanity. Particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, environmental problems such as desertification, unstable crop production due to drought, and loss of forests, as well as social unrest due to rapid population growth, are increasing. Many developing countries are located in these regions, and it is clear that urgent measures must be taken to solve these problems. Among them, the sub-Saharan region of Africa tends to have stagnant economic growth due to the economic burden of food imports to compensate for rapid population growth. We believe that we must do our utmost to build a sustainable agricultural system that utilizes limited resources in order to contribute to the development of agriculture in this harsh natural environment and economic crisis. The origin of rice cultivation in Africa dates back to 3500 years ago. Recently, the Africa Rice Center has developed interspecific hybrids, NERICAs, which are expected to contribute to food self-sufficiency in the region. The Japanese government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have been supporting and contributing to the development of rice production in Africa. The author has been conducting various research projects on rice production with various international and domestic research institutes in the region for about 30 years. In this chapter, the history of Japan’s technical cooperation for rice development in Africa and the characteristics of the rice ecosystem will be explained. The functions and problems of interspecific hybrids, which have been developed recently and are being promoted throughout Africa, are also introduced. Furthermore, the characteristics and research results regarding African rice, a genetic resource unique to Africa, will be described. Finally, the future direction of rice cultivation in Africa is proposed by introducing examples of current efforts.