The Eighth annual Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists of G20 States (G20-MACS) was held at Hotel Grand Palace, Tokyo on April 25-26, 2019. The annual meetings have taken place since 2012 with the goal of identifying global research priorities and targets while facilitating the collaboration between public and private institutions. This year, Japan hosted the annual meeting for the first time and more than 80 chief scientists participated from all G20 States.
NARO President, Dr. Kazuo Kyuma, gave the keynote speech on "Roles of Agri-food Sciences in Global Socio-economic Development and efforts to realize Society 5.0" followed by presentations and group discussions on transboundary plant pests and the impact of climate change on agricultural production. Research Manager for Climate Change (Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO) Dr. Yasuhito Shirato gave an introduction about "Climate change adaptation and mitigation techniques in Japanese agricultural sector."
During this annual meeting, the research outcomes of NARO were presented on panels and exhibits. Confectionery and beverages using NARO deliverables were provided during the break and was well received.
A field tour to Miyagi prefecture, which was largely damaged by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, was held prior to the meeting on April 24. The objective of this tour was to introduce science and technologies to the recovery of the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. NARO Vice-President, Dr. Atsuro Matsuda, gave a presentation on NARO's contribution on the "Scheme to Revitalize Agriculture and Fisheries in Disaster Area through Deploying Highly Advanced Technology". Then the delegates visited a large-scale strawberry farm and rice field where they demonstrated plowing and seed drilling on dry field by a robot tractor followed by an active discussion session.
