On October 6, 2025, the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) officially signed an agreement to establish RhizoNET, an international research network dedicated to advanced plant phenotyping. This milestone builds upon the comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2016 and the successful collaboration initiated in 2018 through the Joint Linkage Call (JLC) program.
RhizoNET brings together five leading institutions from four countries--Japan, France, the Netherlands, and Germany--including INRAE, NARO, the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment Higher Education and Research, Wageningen University & Research, and the Leibniz Institute. The network leverages INRAE's international collaboration framework and aims to accelerate climate change-resilient crop development by integrating the strengths of each participating institution.
Under the JLC program, researchers from NARO and INRAE have developed innovative systems for rapid, non-destructive analysis of root traits. RhizoNET will expand on these achievements, fostering new research collaborations and practical applications in plant science.
At the signing ceremony, NARO President Dr. Kazuo Kyuma and INRAE President Mr. Philippe Mauguin, as founding members, formalized the partnership ahead of other participating organizations. RhizoNET is expected to drive scientific innovation and contribute to sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Following the signing ceremony, the two presidents also exchanged views on further areas of collaboration.
